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.
School counselors, youth prevention program designers, and parents of adolescents involved in bullying.
Parental attachment reduces risk
What the researchers 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.
Why it 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 numbers in context
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 the study worked
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.
What this study cannot 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.
How to read the evidence
Rated moderate because the large nationally representative sample provides robust data, though the cross-sectional design limits causal inference.
When this study was published
Published in 2019.
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.
Questions still open
- 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?
Common questions
Does bullying lead to marijuana use?
What can parents do?
Read the original research
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
Citation
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
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