Strong parent and peer relationships reduced marijuana use among teen bullies and bully-victims
Among 12,642 adolescents, those who were bullies or bully-victims were more likely to use marijuana, but stronger parental attachment and prosocial peer relationships significantly reduced this risk.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Adolescent bullies and bully-victims had higher marijuana use rates than victims or uninvolved youth. Parental attachment and prosocial peer attachment significantly decreased marijuana use likelihood for bullies and bully-victims, partially mediating the bullying-marijuana relationship. Pure victimization alone was not significantly related to marijuana use.
Key Numbers
12,642 adolescents. Bullies and bully-victims had significantly higher marijuana use. Parental attachment and prosocial peer attachment both significantly reduced marijuana use. Social controls partially mediated the bullying-marijuana link.
How They Did This
Cross-sectional analysis of 12,642 adolescents from the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children survey. Multiple mediation approaches tested the role of social control measures between bullying status and marijuana use.
Why This Research Matters
This identifies modifiable protective factors (family and peer relationships) that could be targeted in prevention programs for the specific youth most at risk: those who bully others or experience both sides of bullying.
The Bigger Picture
Bullying and substance use are often treated as separate problems in schools. This study suggests they share common protective factors, meaning interventions that strengthen family and peer connections could address both simultaneously.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Cross-sectional design. Self-reported bullying and substance use. Cannot determine temporal order. Social desirability bias may affect reporting of both bullying and marijuana use.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would family-strengthening interventions reduce marijuana use in bullying youth?
- ?Why does victimization alone not predict marijuana use?
- ?Do these relationships hold across different cultural contexts?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Parental attachment reduces risk
- Evidence Grade:
- Rated moderate because the large nationally representative sample provides robust data, though the cross-sectional design limits causal inference.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2019.
- Original Title:
- The Mediating Effect of Social Controls on Marijuana Use Among Adolescent Bullies, Victims, and Bully-Victims: A Comparison of Various Approaches to Mediation.
- Published In:
- Substance use & misuse, 54(5), 796-810 (2019)
- Authors:
- Cho, Sujung, Norman, Lauren
- Database ID:
- RTHC-01983
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Does bullying lead to marijuana use?
Bullies and bully-victims (not pure victims) had higher marijuana use. Stronger family and peer relationships reduced this risk, suggesting social connection is protective.
What can parents do?
Parental attachment was a significant protective factor against marijuana use in bullying youth, suggesting that maintaining strong parent-child relationships can buffer against substance use risk.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-01983APA
Cho, Sujung; Norman, Lauren. (2019). The Mediating Effect of Social Controls on Marijuana Use Among Adolescent Bullies, Victims, and Bully-Victims: A Comparison of Various Approaches to Mediation.. Substance use & misuse, 54(5), 796-810. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2018.1543326
MLA
Cho, Sujung, et al. "The Mediating Effect of Social Controls on Marijuana Use Among Adolescent Bullies, Victims, and Bully-Victims: A Comparison of Various Approaches to Mediation.." Substance use & misuse, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2018.1543326
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "The Mediating Effect of Social Controls on Marijuana Use Amo..." RTHC-01983. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/cho-2019-the-mediating-effect-of
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.