Maternal patterns of marijuana use and early sexual behavior in offspring of teenage mothers.

Abstract

Teenage mothers use marijuana more frequently than older mothers, and marijuana use may predict HIV risk behavior in offspring. Our goals were to (1) describe trajectories of marijuana use in teenage mothers and (2) determine if these trajectories were associated with early sexual behavior in their offspring. Pregnant adolescents (12-18 years) were recruited at a prenatal clinic and interviewed during pregnancy, at delivery, and during follow-up visits when offspring were 6, 10, 14 and 16 years old. At 16 years, 332 women (71 % Black, 29 % White) and their offspring were assessed. Mothers were asked about their marijuana use at each time point. Offspring reported on their sexual behavior at age 14. Trajectory analyses using growth mixture models revealed four maternal patterns of marijuana use: no use, only at the 6 year follow-up, quit by the 16 year follow-up, and used across most of the time points. The children of chronic users were more likely to have early sex. The maternal marijuana trajectory group variable remained a statistically significant predictor in multivariate models controlling for race, gender, socioeconomic status, child pubertal timing, child externalizing behavior problems, and child marijuana use. These findings suggest that a minority of teenage mothers continue to use marijuana over time. Chronic maternal marijuana use across a decade was associated with early sex in offspring (oral or vaginal sex by age 14). Early sexual behavior places these children at significantly higher risk of teenage pregnancy and HIV risk behaviors.