Partner violence and childhood adversity predicted cigarette and marijuana use during pregnancy
Among 101 low-income pregnant women, past-year sexual partner violence predicted marijuana use during pregnancy, while physical partner violence and childhood adversity predicted different levels of cigarette use.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Sexual intimate partner violence was associated with marijuana use during pregnancy. Physical partner abuse predicted light cigarette use, while high childhood adversity predicted moderate cigarette use during pregnancy. Only 22.5% of prepregnancy smokers quit during pregnancy, compared to 68.1% of marijuana users.
Key Numbers
101 participants; 25% currently smoking cigarettes; 6.9% using marijuana during pregnancy; 22.5% of smokers quit vs 68.1% of marijuana users; sexual IPV associated with marijuana use
How They Did This
Cross-sectional study of 101 low-income pregnant women who were interviewed about past-year intimate partner violence, childhood adversity, and current cigarette and marijuana use. Multinomial regressions controlled for income and education.
Why This Research Matters
Understanding why some pregnant women continue using substances despite knowing the risks requires looking at their lived experiences. Violence exposure appears to be an important and often overlooked driver of substance use during pregnancy.
The Bigger Picture
Pregnant women who continue using substances may be coping with trauma. Cessation programs that fail to address underlying violence exposure and its psychological consequences may be less effective than integrated approaches.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Very small sample (101 participants). Cross-sectional design. Low-income, high-risk sample may not generalize. Self-reported substance use during pregnancy likely underreported.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would trauma-informed prenatal care improve substance cessation rates?
- ?Why did marijuana users quit at higher rates than cigarette smokers?
- ?Does the type of violence exposure affect which substances are used for coping?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Sexual partner violence associated with marijuana use during pregnancy
- Evidence Grade:
- Very small sample with cross-sectional design, though the focus on violence as a driver of prenatal substance use fills an important gap.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2021.
- Original Title:
- Women's Cigarette and Marijuana Use in Pregnancy: Identifying the Role of Past Versus Recent Violence Exposure.
- Published In:
- Journal of interpersonal violence, 36(7-8), NP3982-NP3998 (2021)
- Database ID:
- RTHC-03348
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Why do some women use marijuana during pregnancy?
This study found sexual intimate partner violence was specifically associated with marijuana use during pregnancy, suggesting some women may be using cannabis to cope with trauma.
Were women able to quit once pregnant?
About 68% of prepregnancy marijuana users quit once pregnant, compared to only 22.5% of cigarette smokers.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-03348APA
Miller-Graff, Laura E; Howell, Kathryn H; Grein, Katherine; Keough, Kathryn. (2021). Women's Cigarette and Marijuana Use in Pregnancy: Identifying the Role of Past Versus Recent Violence Exposure.. Journal of interpersonal violence, 36(7-8), NP3982-NP3998. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260518779068
MLA
Miller-Graff, Laura E, et al. "Women's Cigarette and Marijuana Use in Pregnancy: Identifying the Role of Past Versus Recent Violence Exposure.." Journal of interpersonal violence, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260518779068
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Women's Cigarette and Marijuana Use in Pregnancy: Identifyin..." RTHC-03348. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/miller-graff-2021-womens-cigarette-and-marijuana
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.