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Examining How Regular Users of Marijuana Communicate with Their Children About Marijuana Use: Lessons Learned from Facebook and Instagram Recruitment

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Abstract

Regular use of marijuana during adolescence is linked to academic underachievement, mental health problems, and delinquency. There are concerns that increased use of marijuana among adults, especially among caregivers, may increase rates of youth marijuana use. The current qualitative study used content analysis to examine what messages caregivers convey to their children about marijuana use, whether caregivers perceive barriers to such communication, whether they disclose their own use, and level of interest in supports or caregiving resources. Participants were recruited through paid Facebook and Instagram ads. Several methods were employed to achieve a gender-balanced and diverse sample of caregivers with youth aged 8–16 years, living in states with legalized marijuana, and who reported regular marijuana use (N = 70). Caregivers completed an online questionnaire including open- and closed-ended responses about their communication with their children. Results indicated that most caregivers conveyed largely positive messages about marijuana to their children, including marijuana as medicine, natural, and conditionally acceptable to use. Negative messages included caregivers instructing their teen not to use marijuana and that marijuana use is bad and/or unhealthy for children/teens. The majority of caregivers disclosed their own use to their children, and generally did not endorse barriers to communication. Approximately half of caregivers identified a desire for more tangible and applicable communication skills based on scientific evidence to facilitate conversations with their children about marijuana. Implications are discussed for future preventive interventions for those who regularly use marijuana and are caregivers of teens.

Highlights

  • Marijuana-using caregivers presented positive attitudes and beliefs about marijuana.

  • Marijuana-using caregivers wanted more scientific information about how to parent in marijuana-positive environments.

  • Facebook recruiting was fast and cost-effective for collecting data on marijuana-using caregivers.

  • Facebook recruiting was flexible for collecting diverse samples of caregivers.

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Funding

This work was supported by a research grant from Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute at the University of Washington. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, 9725 3rd Ave. NE, Suite 401, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA

    Karryn Satchell, Marina Epstein & Martie L. Skinner

  2. Department of English, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA

    Madeline Furlong

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  1. Karryn Satchell
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  2. Marina Epstein
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  3. Madeline Furlong
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  4. Martie L. Skinner
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Correspondence to Karryn Satchell.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. All activities associated with this study were approved by the University of Washington Institutional Review Board.

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Satchell, K., Epstein, M., Furlong, M. et al. Examining How Regular Users of Marijuana Communicate with Their Children About Marijuana Use: Lessons Learned from Facebook and Instagram Recruitment. J Child Fam Stud 32, 3176–3186 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-023-02593-1

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