Three dimensions of the male gender role as correlates of alcohol and cannabis involvement in young Australian men

This study examined 3 aspects of the male gender role and their relationship to alcohol and cannabis involvement in young adult Australian men (N = 160) aged between 18 and 25 years. Higher scores on the Restrictive Emotionality scale, which assessed gender ,role conflict, were found to relate to both alcohol-related problems and cannabis use. Higher scores on the Antifemininity scale, which assessed traditional attitudes toward men, were also found to be associated with alcohol-related problems. However, lower scores on another aspect of gender role conflict, Restrictive Affectionate Behavior Between Men, and lower scores on one aspect of traditional attitudes toward men, Status Rationality, correlated with higher frequency levels of alcohol and cannabis use.

Family risk factors for cannabis use: a population-based survey of Australian secondary school students

The objective of this study was to investigate relationships between adolescent cannabis use and indices of parent - child attachment, family functioning and parent attitudes to drugs and delinquency. A total of 2848 year 9 and 2363 year 11 students participated in the Victorian Adolescent Health and Well-Being Survey (1999). The study was a school-based random sample of 535 metropolitan and rural, government and non-government secondary schools throughout Victoria, Australia. Cannabis use was defined as 'any' and 'weekly' use in the last 30 days. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify independent associations between cannabis use and parent - child attachment, family functioning and parent attitudes to drugs and delinquency. Cannabis use in year 9 was associated with permissive parent attitudes to drugs and delinquency (any use: adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 8.1; weekly use: adjusted OR = 7.6), and was particularly sensitive to small changes in the quality of the parent - child relationship with risk increasing threefold for those describing their attachment as 'good' compared with 'very good' (any use: adjusted OR = 2.8, weekly use adjusted OR = 2.9). A similar, but more moderate pattern association was evident in year 11. After adjusting for other family and background factors, poor family functioning showed minimal association with level of cannabis use at both year levels. Results suggest that intervention efforts might sensibly target strengthening parent - children relationships and promoting less permissive parent attitudes to drug use.

Modelling the public health consequences of cannabis use in Australia

Aims: To detail and validate a simulation model that describes the dynamics of cannabis use, including its probable causal relationships with schizophrenia, road traffic accidents (RTA) and heroin/poly-drug use (HPU).

Methods: A Markov model with 17 health-states was constructed. Annual cycles were used to simulate the initiation of cannabis use, progression in use, reduction and complete remission. The probabilities of transition between health-states were derived from observational data. Following 10-year-old Australian children for 90 years, the model estimated age-specific prevalence for cannabis use. By applying the relative risks according to the extent of cannabis use, the age-specific prevalence of schizophrenia and HPU, and the annual RTA incidence and fatality rate were also estimated. Predictive validity of the model was tested by comparing modelled outputs with data from other credible sources. Sensitivity and scenario analyses were conducted to evaluate technical validity and face validity.

Results: The estimated cannabis use prevalence in individuals aged 10-65 years was 12.2% which comprised 27.4% weekly and 18.0% daily users. The modelled prevalence and age profile were comparable to the reported cross-sectional data. The model also provided good approximations to the prevalence of schizophrenia (Modelled: 4.75/1,000 persons vs Observed: 4.6/1,000 persons), HPU (3.2/1,000 vs 3.1/1,000) and the RTA fatality rate (8.1 per 100,000 vs 8.2 per 100,000). Sensitivity analyses and scenario analysis provided expected and explainable trends.

Conclusions: The validated model provides a valuable tool to assess the likely effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions designed to affect patterns of cannabis use. It can be updated as new data becomes available and/or applied to other countries.

MAKINGtheLINK : a school-based health promotion programme to increase help-seeking for cannabis and mental health issues among adolescents

Aim: There is increasing concern regarding the use of cannabis among adolescents, especially given recent evidence highlighting its link with later mental disorders. Encouraging young people with mental health or drug issues to seek professional help is an important early intervention strategy; however, adolescents are typically reluctant to do so and instead turn to their peers for help. Peers may not have the skills or knowledge required to assist their friends to access professional help. This paper describes the development and evaluation of MAKINGtheLINK, a school-based health promotion programme that promotes help-seeking behaviour for mental health and cannabis use issues among young people.

Methods: The MAKINGtheLINK programme was piloted with 182 Year 10 students at a secondary school in Melbourne, Australia. Forty teachers received the MAKINGtheLINK staff professional development session.

Results: The delivery of the MAKINGtheLINK programme was found to be both acceptable and feasible within a school setting. Students and teachers described it as a fun, engaging, helpful and important programme. Students reported increased confidence and awareness of how to seek help for themselves or a friend, and teachers indicated increased confidence and awareness of how to assist students to seek help for cannabis use and/or mental health problems.

Conclusions: MAKINGtheLINK was successfully implemented within the school curriculum. We believe this is the first school-based programme that specifically focuses on facilitating professional help-seeking for cannabis use and mental health problems among young people, and demonstrates that utilizing peer models for help-seeking is a valuable resource for early intervention initiatives.

Cannabis use and related harms in the transition to young adulthood: a longitudinal study of Australian secondary school students

The current study documents the changing rates of cannabis use, misuse and cannabis-related social harms among Australian adolescents as they grow into young adulthood. It utilised data from a longitudinal study of young people at ages 15, 16, 17, and 19. The rates of cannabis use were found to increase as participants aged; past year use increased from 7.5% at age 15 to 29.8% at age 19. Further, at ages 17 and 19, cannabis use was more prevalent among males than females. Among those who reported cannabis use, the rates of cannabis-related harms were low to moderate, and did not increase with age in the same manner as rates of cannabis use. The most prevalent self-reported cannabis-related harm was anxiety/depression; affecting between 20–30% of the cannabis users at each age. These findings may assist in understanding the extent of cannabis-related problems among youth, and in planning relevant services.

Cannabis use from adolescence to adulthood: a population-based cohort study

Twelve peer-reviewed published papers arising from the Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study are presented. These have contributed to the international understanding of the causes and consequences of adolescent cannabis use. The overall conclusion must be that adolescent cannabis is not harmless and, for some, has quite grave consequences in adulthood.

A comparison of olanzapine with haloperidol in cannabis-induced psychotic disorder: a double-blind randomized controlled trial

Little controlled data exist on the treatment of substance induced psychotic disorders. In this study, 30 patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for cannabis induced psychotic disorder were randomly allocated to receive either olanzapine or haloperidol in a 4-week double-blind clinical trial. There were no significant outcome differences between the two groups on any of the primary outcome measures, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (haloperidol 25.7; olanzapine 27.1; P = 0.70); Clinical Global Impression (CGI) severity scale (haloperidol 1.8, olanzapine 2.3; P = 0.21) or the CGI improvement scale (haloperidol 1.3, olanzapine 1.7; P = 0.16). The haloperidol group however, developed significantly more extrapyramidal side-effects as measured by the Simpson Angus Scale (haloperidol 11.4, olanzapine 2.5; P = 0.014). Significantly (P = 0.027) more biperidin was used for extrapyramidal side-effects in the haloperidol (7.143 mg) than in the olanzapine (0.357 mg) group. Olanzapine appears to be as effective as haloperidol in the treatment of cannabis induced psychotic disorder, but is associated with a lower rate of extrapyramidal side-effects.

Young adult sequelae of adolescent cannabis use: an integrative analysis

 Background: Debate continues about the consequences of adolescent cannabis use. Existing data are limited in statistical power to examine rarer outcomes and less common, heavier patterns of cannabis use than those already investigated; furthermore, evidence has a piecemeal approach to reporting of young adult sequelae. We aimed to provide a broad picture of the psychosocial sequelae of adolescent cannabis use. Methods: We integrated participant-level data from three large, long-running longitudinal studies from Australia and New Zealand: the Australian Temperament Project, the Christchurch Health and Development Study, and the Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study. We investigated the association between the maximum frequency of cannabis use before age 17 years (never, less than monthly, monthly or more, weekly or more, or daily) and seven developmental outcomes assessed up to age 30 years (high-school completion, attainment of university degree, cannabis dependence, use of other illicit drugs, suicide attempt, depression, and welfare dependence). The number of participants varied by outcome (N=2537 to N=3765). Findings: We recorded clear and consistent associations and dose-response relations between the frequency of adolescent cannabis use and all adverse young adult outcomes. After covariate adjustment, compared with individuals who had never used cannabis, those who were daily users before age 17 years had clear reductions in the odds of high-school completion (adjusted odds ratio 0·37, 95% CI 0·20-0·66) and degree attainment (0·38, 0·22-0·66), and substantially increased odds of later cannabis dependence (17·95, 9·44-34·12), use of other illicit drugs (7·80, 4·46-13·63), and suicide attempt (6·83, 2·04-22·90). Interpretation: Adverse sequelae of adolescent cannabis use are wide ranging and extend into young adulthood. Prevention or delay of cannabis use in adolescence is likely to have broad health and social benefits. Efforts to reform cannabis legislation should be carefully assessed to ensure they reduce adolescent cannabis use and prevent potentially adverse developmental effects. Funding: Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.