Step Children More Likely To Use Cannabis

[Wilbur]

Teenagers living with a stepfather are more likely to use cannabis than those living with a single mother, according to an Australian study.

Children living with stepparents amid household conflict also have a greater probability of developing serious drug habits than teens in the care of biological parents or those in happy marriages, the University of Queensland reported following a study of more than 2,300 Brisbane people from birth to 21 years of age.

Poor parenting styles, difficulties interacting and childhood behavioral problems may be to blame for the trend, said Reza Hayatbakhsh, the study's lead researcher, from the university's School of Population Health.

``Living in non-intact stepfather families or families experiencing conflict between the adults, regardless of their marital status, during adolescence has a strong relationship with cannabis use,'' he said in an e-mailed statement.

Further, cannabis use was more frequent in mothers who were less than 20 years old when they gave birth than for mothers who had completed a college education.

Cannabis was ranked the third-most-used drug by Australians, after alcohol and tobacco, according to a study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in 2004. The results showed 34 percent of people aged 14 years and older had tried cannabis at some time in their life.

The university's findings are part of the Mater-UQ Study of Pregnancy, started in 1981, and will be published in the December edition of the British journal Addiction.


Newshawk: User - 420 Magazine
Source: Bloomberg.com
Pubdate: 7 December 2006
Author: Vesna Poljak
Copyright: 2006 Bloomberg.com
Contact: vpoljak@bloomberg.net
Website: Bloomberg.com