Marijuana Use Predicted Dating Aggression in Teen Girls, Alcohol in Both Sexes | Research

The takeaway

Among adolescents tracked from 8th through 12th grade, marijuana use predicted dating aggression for girls, while alcohol predicted aggression timing for both boys and girls.

Read this if you want to understand the relationship between teen substance use and dating violence.

Marijuana predicted dating aggression for girls; alcohol predicted timing for both sexes

What the researchers found

Using data tracking students from 8th through 12th grade, researchers found distinct patterns by substance type and sex. Marijuana use had a proximal (between-person) effect on dating aggression for girls, meaning girls who used marijuana were more likely to engage in dating aggression overall. Hard drug use showed a similar proximal effect for boys.

Alcohol showed time-varying (within-person) effects for both sexes, meaning that at specific time points when an individual's alcohol use increased, their dating aggression also increased. Hard drug use also had time-varying effects for boys.

Cigarette use was not independently associated with dating aggression after controlling for other substances and risk factors.

Why it matters

Understanding which substances are associated with dating violence, and how those associations differ by sex, can help prevention programs target the right behaviors. The distinction between who is more likely to be aggressive (proximal effects) and when aggression peaks (time-varying effects) has practical implications for intervention timing.

The numbers in context

Data spanned grades 8 through 12. Marijuana showed proximal effects on dating aggression for girls. Alcohol showed time-varying effects for both sexes. Hard drug use showed both proximal and time-varying effects for boys.

How the study worked

Researchers used hierarchical growth modeling to analyze data from adolescents across grades 8 through 12. The analysis simultaneously examined proximal effects (whether substance-using adolescents were generally more aggressive) and time-varying effects (whether increases in substance use at specific time points coincided with increases in aggression). Demographic covariates and shared risk factors were controlled.

What this study cannot tell us

The study relied on self-reported measures of both substance use and dating aggression. The analysis cannot establish causation; substance use and dating aggression may share common underlying risk factors. The specific mechanisms linking substances to aggression (pharmacological effects, social contexts, or shared impulsivity) were not distinguished.

How to read the evidence

This is a longitudinal cohort study with multiple time points and appropriate statistical modeling, providing moderate evidence of associations.

When this study was published

Published in 2014. Research on the intersection of substance use and dating violence in adolescents continues.

The bigger picture

Adolescent dating violence is a significant public health concern with lasting consequences. This research suggests that substance use prevention and dating violence prevention may benefit from integration, as the two behaviors are linked through both stable individual differences and acute situational effects.

Questions still open

Why does marijuana use specifically predict dating aggression in girls but not boys? Do the pharmacological effects of different substances directly contribute to aggression, or is the link driven by shared risk factors? Would integrated prevention programs addressing both substance use and dating violence be more effective?

Common questions

What is the difference between proximal and time-varying effects?

Proximal effects describe stable differences between people: substance users were generally more likely to be aggressive. Time-varying effects capture within-person changes: at times when an individual used more of a substance, their aggression also increased.

Does this mean marijuana causes dating violence?

The study found an association, not causation. Girls who used marijuana were more likely to engage in dating aggression, but this could reflect shared underlying factors like impulsivity, peer environment, or stress rather than a direct causal effect of marijuana.

Read the original research

Proximal and time-varying effects of cigarette, alcohol, marijuana and other hard drug use on adolescent dating aggression.

Journal of adolescence, 37(3), 281-9

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

McNaughton Reyes, H Luz; Foshee, Vangie A; Bauer, Daniel J; Ennett, Susan T. (2014). Proximal and time-varying effects of cigarette, alcohol, marijuana and other hard drug use on adolescent dating aggression.. Journal of adolescence, 37(3), 281-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.02.002