Sponsor
Portland State University. Social Work and Social Research Ph. D. Program
First Advisor
Junghee Lee
Term of Graduation
Spring 2022
Date of Publication
6-7-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Social Work and Social Research
Department
Social Work
Language
English
Subjects
Youth -- Drug use, Teenagers -- Drug use, Marijuana -- Use -- Public opinion, Marijuana -- Law and legislation -- United States -- States, Drug legalization
DOI
10.15760/etd.7859
Physical Description
1 online resource (x, 111 pages)
Abstract
Youth marijuana use, which can lead to numerous health problems, is significantly associated with youth drug perception, which is greatly influenced by state marijuana laws such as medical marijuana legalization and penalty severity. The mediating impact of social drug perceptions on the association between state marijuana laws and youth drug disapproval is not well known. Based on theory of change and primary socialization theory, this study examined the impact of state marijuana laws on youth drug disapproval, the mediating factors of parent and peer drug disapproval, the direct effect of youth drug disapproval on youth marijuana use, and the moderating roles of gender and race. Data were derived from the 2019 National Survey of Drug Use and Health (n = 1,910; average age = 15.71 years old; 49.2% female; 49.5% White) with youth aged 12-17 years old. Using structural equation modeling, this study demonstrated that medical marijuana legalization significantly reduces parent, peer, and youth drug disapproval, whereas the penalty severity on marijuana possession significantly reinforced parent and peer drug disapproval among the whole sample. The finding also indicates that parent and peer drug disapproval significantly mediates the relationship between medical marijuana legalization/penalty severity and youth drug disapproval. Moreover, youth drug disapproval, which is affected by the mediating pathways, reduces youth marijuana use. Additionally, the impact of state marijuana laws has different effects on parent, peer, and youth drug disapproval depending on gender and race/ethnicity. Acknowledging the contributions of state marijuana policies and social perceptive resources furthers the youth marijuana use knowledge base by providing a more integrated model of improving explanatory mechanisms and clarifying the role of socio-structural factors in drug perceptions and further marijuana use.
Rights
© 2022 Eunbyeor Sophie Yang
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/37894
Recommended Citation
Yang, Eunbyeor Sophie, "The Mechanisms Connecting State Marijuana Policies to Parent, Peer, and Youth Drug Perception Leading to Youth Marijuana Use" (2022). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 5989.
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.7859