Historique
Article de Périodique
Testing the cannabis gateway hypothesis in a national sample of Spanish adolescents (2023)
Auteur(s) :
GARCIA-PEREZ, A. ;
AONSO-DIEGO, G. ;
WEIDBERG, S. ;
SECADES-VILLA, R.
Année
2023
Page(s) :
art. 107751
Langue(s) :
Anglais
Domaine :
Alcool / Alcohol ; Drogues illicites / Illicit drugs ; Tabac / Tobacco / e-cigarette
Discipline :
EPI (Epidémiologie / Epidemiology)
Thésaurus géographique
ESPAGNE
Thésaurus mots-clés
ADOLESCENT
;
CANNABIS
;
THEORIE DE L'ESCALADE
;
POLYCONSOMMATION
;
PRODUIT ILLICITE
;
ALCOOL
;
TABAC
;
FACTEUR DE RISQUE
Résumé :
Background: The gateway hypothesis holds that the use of legal substances (i.e., tobacco and alcohol) increases the risk of initiating in cannabis use which, in turn, increases the chances of using other illegal substances. The validity of this hypothesis has been the subject of intense debate in recent years, finding sequences with a different order. Moreover, this pattern has been scarcely studied in Spain, where characteristics related to cannabis use are meaningfully different to other countries. This study aims to examine the gateway effects of cannabis towards other legal and illegal substances in Spanish adolescents.
Material and methods: Data were obtained from the Ministry of Health in Spain, through a representative survey of addictive behaviors of 36,984 Spanish adolescents (Mage = 15.7, SD = 1.2, 51.4% females).
Results: Lifetime cannabis use increased the likelihood of later legal substance use, both tobacco (OR = 2.0; 95%CI 1.81, 2.22) and alcohol (OR = 1.93; 95%CI 1.61, 2.31), as well as illegal substances (OR = 5.36; 95%CI 4.80, 5.98) and polysubstance (OR = 18.24; 95%CI 14.63, 22.73). Early age of cannabis use onset significantly increased the likelihood of subsequent legal and illegal substance use (ORs between 1.82 and 2.65).
Conclusions: These findings confirm and expand the available evidence on cannabis as a gateway substance. These results can help to drive preventive strategies for substance use in Spanish adolescents.
Highlights:
The gateway hypothesis holds that cannabis use increases other illegal substance use.
Cannabis use duplicated the probabilities of tobacco and alcohol use.
Cannabis use increased five times the likelihood of use of other illegal drugs.
Material and methods: Data were obtained from the Ministry of Health in Spain, through a representative survey of addictive behaviors of 36,984 Spanish adolescents (Mage = 15.7, SD = 1.2, 51.4% females).
Results: Lifetime cannabis use increased the likelihood of later legal substance use, both tobacco (OR = 2.0; 95%CI 1.81, 2.22) and alcohol (OR = 1.93; 95%CI 1.61, 2.31), as well as illegal substances (OR = 5.36; 95%CI 4.80, 5.98) and polysubstance (OR = 18.24; 95%CI 14.63, 22.73). Early age of cannabis use onset significantly increased the likelihood of subsequent legal and illegal substance use (ORs between 1.82 and 2.65).
Conclusions: These findings confirm and expand the available evidence on cannabis as a gateway substance. These results can help to drive preventive strategies for substance use in Spanish adolescents.
Highlights:
The gateway hypothesis holds that cannabis use increases other illegal substance use.
Cannabis use duplicated the probabilities of tobacco and alcohol use.
Cannabis use increased five times the likelihood of use of other illegal drugs.
Affiliation :
Department of Psychology, Sociology and Philosophy, University of Leon, Spain
Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Spain
Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Spain