Parent cannabis use predicted whether their children used cannabis at age 18, but positive parenting behavior in early childhood significantly reduced the number of cannabis use disorder symptoms in offspring.
Prevention researchers, pediatricians, early childhood intervention programs, parents who use cannabis.
Positive parenting in early childhood buffered the intergenerational transmission of cannabis problems
What the researchers found
Parent cannabis use significantly predicted offspring cannabis use at age 18, while polygenic risk scores for CUD did not. Parental positive behavior support (observed at ages 2-5) significantly buffered the effect of parent cannabis use on the number of offspring CUD symptoms, suggesting that positive parenting can provide resilience against intergenerational transmission.
Why it matters
This is one of the first studies to show that a modifiable factor (positive parenting) can buffer the well-documented intergenerational transmission of cannabis use. The fact that genetics (polygenic risk) did not predict use while parenting did suggests that environmental factors may be more targetable for prevention.
The numbers in context
n=731; age 18; 50.2% female; 50% White, 28% Black, 13% Hispanic, 9% other; parent cannabis use measured 7 times; positive behavior support measured 4 times; CUD PRS formed using PRS-CSx; negative binomial logistic regression.
How the study worked
Longitudinal analysis of 731 18-year-olds from the Early Steps Multisite Study (50.2% female, racially diverse). Parent cannabis use measured at offspring ages 2-9.5, observational positive behavior support at ages 2-5. CUD symptoms assessed with SCID-IV interview. Polygenic risk scores calculated using PRS-CSx for genetically diverse samples.
What this study cannot tell us
Observational study cannot prove positive parenting caused the buffering effect. Parent cannabis use was self-reported. CUD polygenic risk scores may have limited predictive power in diverse populations. Single assessment of CUD at age 18 does not capture trajectory.
How to read the evidence
Moderate: Well-designed longitudinal study with diverse sample, observational parenting measures, and genetic analysis, though observational design limits causal claims.
When this study was published
Published in 2025.
The bigger picture
This study connects early childhood parenting interventions to adolescent substance use outcomes, suggesting that existing evidence-based parenting programs could be a pathway to reducing cannabis use disorder in the next generation.
Questions still open
- Would parenting interventions for cannabis-using parents reduce offspring CUD? At what developmental stage is positive parenting most protective? Do these findings extend to other substance use disorders?
Common questions
What is positive behavior support?
Why didn't genetic risk predict cannabis use?
Read the original research
Intergenerational Transmission of Cannabis Use: Testing Genetic Risk and the Mitigating Influences of Parent Positive Behavior Support in Early Childhood.
Research on child and adolescent psychopathology, 53(10), 1581-1593
Citation
Ostner, Savannah G; Clifford, Sierra; Cruz, Rick A; Tein, Jenn-Yun; Westling, Erika; Shaw, Daniel S; Brown-Iannuzzi, Jazmin L; Wilson, Melvin N; Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn. (2025). Intergenerational Transmission of Cannabis Use: Testing Genetic Risk and the Mitigating Influences of Parent Positive Behavior Support in Early Childhood.. Research on child and adolescent psychopathology, 53(10), 1581-1593. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-025-01354-6
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