The impact of the home life environment and organised extracurricular activities on adolescent cannabis use: Findings from the Irish Planet Youth Survey

Objectives

Adolescent cannabis use is a significant public health concern. This study aimed to investigate how the home life environment and involvement in extracurricular activities correlate with teenage cannabis use in Ireland.

Study design

Cross-sectional study

Methods

We analysed data from the Planet Youth 2020 survey, an anonymous questionnaire among school-going adolescents in the West of Ireland. Adolescents with complete data pertaining to age, gender, and cannabis use were included (n = 4897). Multinomial logistic regression examined factors associated with cannabis use more than 12 months ago, within the previous 12 months (but not 30 days), and within the previous month (vs. never used). Exposure variables of interest included factors related to the home life environment (parental rule-setting, parental monitoring, being outside after midnight in the previous week, and intergenerational closure), and adolescent involvement in extracurricular activities (sports, arts, volunteering, and/or afterschool clubs).

Results

Overall, 908 (18.5 %) adolescents reported previous cannabis use. Specifically, 182 (3.7 %) had used cannabis more than a year ago, 361 (7.4 %) had used cannabis within the last year (but not 30 days), while 365 (7.5 %) had used cannabis within the past month. Being outside after midnight in the previous week, a lack of parental rule-setting, parental monitoring, intergenerational closure, and lack of participation in sports or volunteering were all associated with increased odds of adolescent cannabis use.

Conclusion

Cannabis use is relatively common among adolescents in Ireland. Social environment factors related to cannabis use, both within the home and in the wider community, may provide valuable insights for actionable primary prevention interventions at the grassroots level.