Age of Onset of Marijuana Use: Consequences for Rural and Urban Youth

• In Event: Posters II

Abstract

Most studies find that rural youth have overall rates of drug use that are similar to urban populations; however, some research finds that rural youth report earlier first use than urban youth. I use data from Monitoring the Future from 2004-2014 to explore the relationship between age of first marijuana use and rural-urban location. I find that though rural and urban youth show similar levels of drug use as high school seniors, there are important differences in the age of onset, with rural youth reporting earlier marijuana use. Similarly, rural 8th and 10th graders report rates of marijuana use that are slightly higher than their urban counterparts. In this presentation, I focus on identifying the consequences of early marijuana use and how they differ by rural/urban location. Consistent with prior research, I find earlier marijuana use is associated with current drug use and delinquency for youth in all locations; however, the correlations are weaker for rural youth. I further examine how characteristics of rural youth might serve as protective factors to diminish the negative consequences of early marijuana use.

Author

• Laine Briddell, Christopher Newport University