Attitudes and perceived behavioral control were the strongest predictors of marijuana use intentions among Iranian university students.
Researchers interested in cross-cultural cannabis psychology and prevention program designers.
Attitudes (β = 0.42) were the strongest predictor of marijuana use intention
What the researchers found
In a sample of 166 Iranian university students, attitudes toward marijuana and perceived behavioral control significantly predicted intentions to use, while subjective norms (peer pressure) did not reach significance in the full model.
Why it matters
Most cannabis intention research comes from Western countries. This study offers a rare look at how psychological predictors of cannabis use operate in a very different cultural and legal context.
The numbers in context
166 participants surveyed; attitudes (β = 0.42) and perceived behavioral control (β = 0.31) were significant predictors of intention.
How the study worked
Cross-sectional survey of 166 university students in Iran using Theory of Planned Behavior framework with structural equation modeling.
What this study cannot tell us
Small convenience sample from one university in Iran; cross-sectional design cannot establish causality; self-report measures in a context where cannabis is illegal may introduce response bias.
How to read the evidence
Preliminary: small convenience sample, single university, cross-sectional design.
When this study was published
Published 2016.
The bigger picture
The findings suggest that personal attitudes matter more than peer pressure in predicting cannabis use intentions, at least in this cultural context, which could inform prevention strategies.
Questions still open
- Would these predictive patterns hold in larger, representative Iranian samples? How do cultural and legal factors shape the relative importance of attitudes vs. social norms?
Common questions
What predicted marijuana use intentions most strongly?
Did peer pressure predict marijuana use intentions?
Read the original research
Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to Predict Patterns of Marijuana Use among Young Iranian Adults.
International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(6)
Citation
Jalilian, Farzad; Mirzaei-Alavijeh, Mehdi; Ahmadpanah, Mohammad; Mostafaei, Shayan; Kargar, Mehdi; Pirouzeh, Razieh; Sadeghi Bahmani, Dena; Brand, Serge. (2020). Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to Predict Patterns of Marijuana Use among Young Iranian Adults.. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17061981
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