What predicts marijuana use intentions among Iranian university students?

Attitudes and perceived behavioral control were the strongest predictors of marijuana use intentions among Iranian university students.

Jalilian, Farzad et al.·International journal of environmental research and public health·2020·Preliminary EvidenceCross-Sectional
RTHC-02631Cross SectionalPreliminary Evidence2020RETHINKTHC RESEARCH DATABASErethinkthc.com/research

Quick Facts

Study Type
Cross-Sectional
Evidence
Preliminary Evidence
Sample
N=166

What This Study 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.

Key Numbers

166 participants surveyed; attitudes (β = 0.42) and perceived behavioral control (β = 0.31) were significant predictors of intention.

How They Did This

Cross-sectional survey of 166 university students in Iran using Theory of Planned Behavior framework with structural equation modeling.

Why This Research 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 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.

What This Study Doesn't 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.

Questions This Raises

  • ?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?

Trust & Context

Key Stat:
Attitudes (β = 0.42) were the strongest predictor of marijuana use intention
Evidence Grade:
Preliminary: small convenience sample, single university, cross-sectional design.
Study Age:
Published 2016.
Original Title:
Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to Predict Patterns of Marijuana Use among Young Iranian Adults.
Published In:
International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(6) (2020)
Database ID:
RTHC-02631

Evidence Hierarchy

Meta-Analysis / Systematic Review
Randomized Controlled Trial
Cohort / Case-Control
Cross-Sectional / ObservationalSnapshot without intervening
This study
Case Report / Animal Study

A snapshot of a population at one point in time.

What do these levels mean? →

Frequently Asked Questions

What predicted marijuana use intentions most strongly?

Personal attitudes toward marijuana (β = 0.42) were the strongest predictor, followed by perceived behavioral control (β = 0.31).

Did peer pressure predict marijuana use intentions?

Subjective norms (peer/social pressure) did not significantly predict intentions in the full model, suggesting personal attitudes mattered more in this context.

Read More on RethinkTHC

Cite This Study

RTHC-02631·https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-02631

APA

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

MLA

Jalilian, Farzad, et al. "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, 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17061981

RethinkTHC

RethinkTHC Research Database. "Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to Predict..." RTHC-02631. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/jalilian-2020-extension-of-the-theory

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.