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Adult Psychiatric, Substance, and Functional Outcomes of Different Definitions of Early Cannabis Use.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Copeland, WE; Hill, SN; Shanahan, L
Published in: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry
April 2022

OBJECTIVE: Research on associations of early cannabis use with adult functioning reports mixed findings. This may be due, in part, to wide variations in the definitions of early cannabis use. This study aims to compare associations of 4 commonly used definitions of early cannabis use-related to timing, dose, duration, and associated symptoms-with adult outcomes. METHOD: Analyses were based on a 20+-year longitudinal, community-representative study of 1,420 participants. Between ages 9 and 21 years (8,806 observations), participants were assessed for cannabis use and DSM-5 cannabis use disorder. In early adulthood (ages 24-26 and 30; 2,424 observations of 1,266 subjects), participants were also assessed for psychiatric, substance use, and functional outcomes. RESULTS: All definitions of early use were associated with multiple adult outcomes in models that adjusted for sex and race/ethnicity. In models that also adjusted for childhood psychiatric problems and family adversities, only daily use and a persistent developmental subtype (defined as daily/problematic use that began in adolescence and continued into early adulthood) were associated with later substance use/disorders, poorer functional outcomes, and derailments in the transition to adulthood. CONCLUSION: Daily, continued-over-time cannabis use beginning on adolescence was most problematic for a range of adult outcomes. Cessation of early use did not fully eliminate later risks; but was associated with fewer negative outcomes, with weaker effect sizes.

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Published In

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

DOI

EISSN

1527-5418

Publication Date

April 2022

Volume

61

Issue

4

Start / End Page

533 / 543

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Substance-Related Disorders
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Humans
  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
  • Developmental & Child Psychology
  • Child
  • Cannabis
  • Adult
  • Adolescent
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Copeland, W. E., Hill, S. N., & Shanahan, L. (2022). Adult Psychiatric, Substance, and Functional Outcomes of Different Definitions of Early Cannabis Use. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 61(4), 533–543. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2021.07.824
Copeland, William E., Sherika N. Hill, and Lilly Shanahan. “Adult Psychiatric, Substance, and Functional Outcomes of Different Definitions of Early Cannabis Use.J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 61, no. 4 (April 2022): 533–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2021.07.824.
Copeland WE, Hill SN, Shanahan L. Adult Psychiatric, Substance, and Functional Outcomes of Different Definitions of Early Cannabis Use. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2022 Apr;61(4):533–43.
Copeland, William E., et al. “Adult Psychiatric, Substance, and Functional Outcomes of Different Definitions of Early Cannabis Use.J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, vol. 61, no. 4, Apr. 2022, pp. 533–43. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2021.07.824.
Copeland WE, Hill SN, Shanahan L. Adult Psychiatric, Substance, and Functional Outcomes of Different Definitions of Early Cannabis Use. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2022 Apr;61(4):533–543.
Journal cover image

Published In

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

DOI

EISSN

1527-5418

Publication Date

April 2022

Volume

61

Issue

4

Start / End Page

533 / 543

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Substance-Related Disorders
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Humans
  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
  • Developmental & Child Psychology
  • Child
  • Cannabis
  • Adult
  • Adolescent