Marijuana Use Among Ugandan School Adolescents Linked to Male Sex and Mental Health History
Among 1,833 Ugandan secondary school students, 2.6% reported significant marijuana use, with male sex and mental illness history as the strongest predictors.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Male adolescents had 2.2 times the odds of marijuana use compared to females (AOR 2.21). Having a history of mental illness nearly tripled the odds (AOR 2.87). Urban school attendance more than doubled the odds of substance-related impairment (AOR 2.37).
Key Numbers
2.6% marijuana use prevalence (n=46 of 1,833); 3.0% alcohol; 1.7% tobacco; 6.2% any substance impairment; mean age 15.1 years; 60% female; male sex AOR 2.21 for marijuana; mental illness history AOR 2.87 for marijuana, 2.69 for alcohol
How They Did This
Cross-sectional survey of 1,833 adolescents aged 10-18 from eight secondary schools in two Ugandan districts, using the Child and Adolescent Symptom Inventory-5. Schools were stratified by ownership and geographic setting. Logistic regression identified independent predictors.
Why This Research Matters
Most adolescent substance use research comes from high-income countries. This large study from Uganda provides data on cannabis use patterns in a context where legalization debates are less prominent but adolescent vulnerability remains a concern.
The Bigger Picture
The finding that mental illness history nearly triples marijuana use risk among Ugandan adolescents mirrors patterns seen globally, suggesting that mental health support in schools could be a key intervention point regardless of cultural context.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Cross-sectional design cannot determine causation, convenience sampling from only two districts, self-report measures subject to social desirability bias, relatively low prevalence limits statistical power for subgroup analyses
Questions This Raises
- ?Would similar patterns appear in out-of-school Ugandan youth?
- ?Does the mental health-marijuana association reflect self-medication or shared vulnerability?
- ?How do urban-rural differences in access affect use patterns?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Mental illness history nearly tripled the odds of marijuana use among Ugandan adolescents
- Evidence Grade:
- Large cross-sectional study with validated measures and adjusted analyses, but limited to two districts and self-report data
- Study Age:
- Published 2025
- Original Title:
- Prevalence and factors associated with alcohol and substance use among secondary school adolescents in central and Eastern Uganda: a cross-sectional study.
- Published In:
- BMC public health, 26(1), 252 (2025)
- Authors:
- Bing, Wentrell, Abbo, Catherine, Dickson-Gomez, Julia, Kiconco, Arthur, Odokonyero, Felix Raymond, Bobholz, Max, Shour, Abdul R, Kasasa, Simon, Kabanda, Richard, Kalani, Kenneth, Cassidy, Laura D, Anguzu, Ronald
- Database ID:
- RTHC-06066
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
How common is marijuana use among Ugandan school adolescents?
In this study of 1,833 students across two districts, 2.6% reported significant marijuana use, lower than alcohol (3.0%) but higher than tobacco (1.7%).
What predicted marijuana use in this population?
Being male (2.2x higher odds) and having a history of mental illness (2.9x higher odds) were the strongest independent predictors of marijuana use.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-06066APA
Bing, Wentrell; Abbo, Catherine; Dickson-Gomez, Julia; Kiconco, Arthur; Odokonyero, Felix Raymond; Bobholz, Max; Shour, Abdul R; Kasasa, Simon; Kabanda, Richard; Kalani, Kenneth; Cassidy, Laura D; Anguzu, Ronald. (2025). Prevalence and factors associated with alcohol and substance use among secondary school adolescents in central and Eastern Uganda: a cross-sectional study.. BMC public health, 26(1), 252. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-25944-7
MLA
Bing, Wentrell, et al. "Prevalence and factors associated with alcohol and substance use among secondary school adolescents in central and Eastern Uganda: a cross-sectional study.." BMC public health, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-25944-7
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Prevalence and factors associated with alcohol and substance..." RTHC-06066. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/bing-2025-prevalence-and-factors-associated
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.