(PS1-30) Family History and Social Network Contacts Among Young Adult Cannabis Users

Cannabis remains the most widely used federally illicit drug, with 18% of individuals reporting use in 2019. As cannabis becomes increasingly popular and accessible through legalization efforts, research aimed at further understanding negative consequences remains important. Thus, the current study aims to better understand individual and social factors implicated in problematic cannabis use.  

Participants consisted of individuals who reported heavy cannabis use (N=132, Mage = 19.9; 54% female) that were recruited as part of a larger study. Participants completed several surveys assessing demographics, parental history of problematic substance use, participant cannabis use, and cannabis-related problems. Using the Important People and Activities (IPA) interview, participants identified a network of six important people, amount of daily contact with this network, their network’s cannabis use, and their network’s general support of their cannabis use. Independent sample t-tests were conducted to explore differences between participants with and without a parental history of past year cannabis use. Group differences in daily network contact, network support of use, network frequency of cannabis use, and p</span>articipants’ own cannabis use and related problems were examined.  

Results indicated significant differences in daily network contact (t(127)=1.68, p=.05) and cannabis related problems (t(127)=-1.95, p=.03) based on parental history of cannabis use. Specifically, those with a parental history of cannabis use (M=1.44, SD=1.27) had less daily interaction with network members compared to those with no parental history of cannabis use (M=1.85, SD=1.43). Further, individuals with a parental history of cannabis use (M=19.46, SD=13.33) experienced significantly more cannabis related problems than those who did not (M=15.56, SD=9.46). Notably, participants’ monthly cannabis use, network use, and network’s support of use did not significantly differ between groups. 

Despite similar amounts of use, network use, and network support of use, individuals with a parental history of cannabis use had less daily interaction with identified network members and experienced more problems. These findings suggest familial cannabis use may pose risks for decreased social engagement regardless of the individual’s level of use and experience greater problems. This finding is concerning as previous research has identified social support as a protective factor against adverse outcomes related to substance use. Studies aimed at further exploration of the complex impact of familial use on one’s social network engagement and cannabis use/problems remains pertinent.