College students who saw young adulthood as a time for experimentation were more likely to use marijuana and binge drink | Research

The takeaway

Feeling that emerging adulthood was a time for experimentation predicted both marijuana use and binge drinking, while viewing it as a time for identity exploration was associated with less marijuana use.

Read this if you're interested in the psychology behind why some young adults use cannabis and others don't.

Viewing young adulthood as "experimentation time" predicted both marijuana use and binge drinking

What the researchers found

Among college students aged 18-25, those who endorsed the theme of "experimentation/possibility" as defining emerging adulthood were more likely to report both marijuana use and binge drinking. Conversely, those who saw emerging adulthood as a time of "identity exploration" were less likely to use marijuana.

The study used the Revised Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA-R), a shorter version of a widely used scale measuring how young adults perceive their life stage. These subjective self-perceptions about what emerging adulthood means predicted substance use independently of demographic factors.

Why it matters

Understanding why some young adults use cannabis and others do not goes beyond availability and peer pressure. This study suggests that how young people conceptualize their life stage, whether as a time for trying new things or for figuring out who they are, shapes substance use decisions. This could inform prevention messaging.

The numbers in context

Experimentation/possibility theme positively associated with marijuana use and binge drinking. Identity exploration theme negatively associated with marijuana use. Specific odds ratios were reported but the abstract focuses on direction of association.

How the study worked

Cross-sectional survey of college students who completed the IDEA-R questionnaire and reported their substance use. Logistic regression models tested associations between transition-to-adulthood themes and both marijuana use and binge drinking, controlling for demographics.

What this study cannot tell us

Cross-sectional design prevents determining whether attitudes cause substance use or substance use shapes attitudes. College students are not representative of all emerging adults. Self-report measures may be subject to social desirability bias. The study did not measure frequency or quantity of use.

How to read the evidence

Cross-sectional survey of college students. Identifies interesting associations but cannot establish causation or generalize beyond college populations.

When this study was published

Published in 2017. Research on emerging adulthood identity and substance use continues to develop.

The bigger picture

Prevention programs for young adults often focus on risk knowledge and peer resistance, but this research suggests that targeting deeper self-narratives about what young adulthood means could be more effective. A young person who sees this period as primarily about experimentation may be more open to substance use than one who frames it as identity work.

Questions still open

Can shifting young adults' self-narratives about emerging adulthood reduce substance use? Do these associations hold in non-college populations? Does the experimentation theme predict initiation of use or continuation among those who have already tried substances?

Common questions

Does wanting to explore identity actually protect against marijuana use?

The study found that students who saw emerging adulthood as a time for identity exploration were less likely to use marijuana. The researchers suggest that identity-focused young adults may be more deliberate about their choices and less drawn to experimentation for its own sake.

Could this research help prevent substance use?

The authors suggest that prevention programs targeting how young adults think about their life stage, particularly reframing experimentation narratives, could be more effective than traditional approaches focused solely on drug education.

Read the original research

The Revised Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA-R) and Substance Use Among College Students.

Evaluation & the health professions, 40(4), 401-408

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Allem, Jon-Patrick; Sussman, Steve; Unger, Jennifer B. (2017). The Revised Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA-R) and Substance Use Among College Students.. Evaluation & the health professions, 40(4), 401-408. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163278716660742