Among over 7,000 youth in the ABCD study, witnessing violence was associated with stronger positive expectations about cannabis effects, particularly in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Prevention researchers, school-based health professionals, and anyone working with violence-exposed youth.
What the researchers found
Across all neighborhood types, youth who witnessed violence had elevated positive cannabis expectancies (betas: 0.20-0.38). Living in more advantaged neighborhoods modestly weakened this association. The effect was consistent across Black, Latinx, and White youth.
Why it matters
Expectations about drug effects predict future use, especially before youth have actually tried substances. Understanding that violence exposure shapes these expectations, even in early adolescence, provides a specific target for early prevention efforts.
The numbers in context
N=7,332 (weighted: 45.5% girl, 52.3% boy; 11.8% Black, 25.1% Latinx, 63.1% White; mean age 12.94). Positive cannabis expectancy betas for violence exposure: 0.20-0.38 across ADI quartiles, weakest in least disadvantaged neighborhoods. All race/ethnicity interactions were non-significant.
How the study worked
Cross-sectional analysis of 7,332 youth from Follow-up 3 of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, using the MEEQ-B for cannabis expectancies and the Area Deprivation Index for neighborhood context. General linear models adjusted for socioeconomic indicators.
What this study cannot tell us
Cross-sectional design cannot determine whether violence exposure causes changes in expectancies. Self-reported violence exposure may be subject to recall bias. Cannabis expectancies do not necessarily predict actual use. The ABCD sample, while large, may not capture the most violence-exposed youth.
How to read the evidence
Large nationally representative sample with validated measures and appropriate neighborhood-level data, but cross-sectional design limits causal inference.
When this study was published
Published 2025, using ABCD Study Follow-up 3 data (mean age ~13).
The bigger picture
This connects two important public health issues: community violence and adolescent substance use risk. The finding that neighborhood advantage provides modest but not complete protection suggests that individual-level interventions for violence-exposed youth may be needed regardless of where they live.
Questions still open
- Whether interventions targeting cannabis expectancies in violence-exposed youth could prevent later use
- How these expectancy patterns relate to actual cannabis initiation in later ABCD follow-ups
Common questions
What are cannabis expectancies?
Did the effects differ by race or ethnicity?
Read the original research
The association of witnessing violence with alcohol and cannabis expectancies among Black, Latinx, and White youth: considering neighborhood context.
Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 60(11), 2603-2612
Citation
Sartor, Carolyn E; Kennelly, Nicole; Powell, Margret Z; Chung, Tammy; Latendresse, Shawn J; McCutcheon, Vivia V. (2025). The association of witnessing violence with alcohol and cannabis expectancies among Black, Latinx, and White youth: considering neighborhood context.. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 60(11), 2603-2612. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-025-02939-8
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