Cannabis use and the transition to young adulthood

Despite the significance of role changes during the process of transition from adolescence to young adulthood, there have been few investigations of how transitional problems may result in increased illicit drug use. Recent structural changes in the economy may have produced a greater likelihood of such transitional difficulties. The present research uses longitudinal panel data from a sample of graduating high school students in three Canadian cities to test a model that predicts change in cannabis use from late adolescence to early adulthood. Young adults with less job stability, weaker occupational and educational commitment should be freer from informal social controls and therefore more at risk for an increased level of cannabis use. However, none of the measures of informal social control processes was an important net predictor of change in cannabis use. Rather, prior cannabis use in high school was of overwhelming importance in predicting use two years later. There was also evidence that having delinquent friends led to increased cannabis use. These results are discussed and suggestions are given for additional research on this topic.Revised version of a paper presented to the American Society of Criminology, November 1991, San Francisco. Financial assistance was provided by the Solicitor General Canada through the contributions grant to the Centre of Criminology, University of Alberta. Major funding for the larger project was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Alberta and Ontario governments, the cities of Edmonton and Toronto, the University of Alberta and Laurentian University.Received Ph.D. from Indiana University. Current research interests are attitudes toward young offenders, role transition and crime, and female crime trends.