Among 710 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth, absence of marijuana use was one of several protective factors associated with not experiencing depression.
Indigenous health researchers, youth mental health clinicians, community health service providers
What the researchers found
72.1% of youth were not experiencing depression. Protective factors associated with absence of depression included exercise, sport participation, and absence of marijuana use, cigarette smoking, job difficulties, homelessness, trouble with police, and violence experience.
Why it matters
This study takes a strengths-based approach, identifying what promotes wellbeing rather than just what causes harm. For Aboriginal youth, not using marijuana emerged as one of several modifiable protective factors.
The numbers in context
710 participants aged 15-24. 72.1% not experiencing depression. Protective factors: exercise, sport, no marijuana, no cigarettes, no job difficulty, no homelessness, no police trouble, no violence.
How the study worked
Cross-sectional analysis of health assessment data from 710 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth aged 15-24 attending an urban health service (2016-2021). Modified Poisson regression used a positive-outcome approach analyzing factors associated with absence of depression.
What this study cannot tell us
Cross-sectional health assessment data. Single urban health service. Cannot establish causation. Depression measured by service-specific tools, not validated scales. Youth attending health services may differ from the general population.
How to read the evidence
Adequate sample with meaningful positive-outcome approach, but single-site cross-sectional design limits to moderate.
When this study was published
Health assessment data from 2016-2021.
The bigger picture
The positive-outcome framing is important for Indigenous health research, which often focuses on deficits. Marijuana absence as a protective factor does not prove marijuana causes depression but identifies it as part of a cluster of modifiable risk behaviors.
Questions still open
- Does marijuana cessation improve mental health in this population?
- How do these protective factors interact with cultural and community connectedness?
Common questions
Does marijuana cause depression in Aboriginal youth?
What protects Aboriginal youth from depression?
Read the original research
Protective factors for psychological wellbeing: A cross-sectional study of young people attending an urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare service.
Australian and New Zealand journal of public health, 49(1), 100218
Citation
Spurling, Geoffrey K P; Askew, Deborah A; Hayman, Noel E; Schluter, Philip J. (2025). Protective factors for psychological wellbeing: A cross-sectional study of young people attending an urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare service.. Australian and New Zealand journal of public health, 49(1), 100218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anzjph.2024.100218
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