Past 30–Day Marijuana Vaping: Prevalence and Predictors of Use in a Nationally Representative Study of U.S. Youth

• Published in: American journal of preventive medicine 2021-02, Vol.60 (2), p.258-266
• Main Authors: Kritikos, Alexandra F., Johnson, Julie K., Hodgkin, Dominic
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Alcohol use; At risk populations; Behavior; Cannabis; Drinking behavior; Drug abuse; Ethnicity; Humans; Male; Marijuana; Marijuana Smoking - epidemiology; Marijuana Use - epidemiology; Otherness; Prescription drugs; Prevalence; Prevention programs; Race; Risk behavior; Risk perception; Sociodemographics; Students; Substance abuse; Truancy; Vaping; Youth
• ISSN: 0749-3797; 1873-2607
• DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2020.06.029

Vaping has become an increasingly common mode of administration for marijuana among youth, but there are limited data on its prevalence. There is a need to better understand youth prevalence of past 30–day marijuana vaping and its predictors. Data were from a nationally representative sample of students from the Monitoring the Future survey in 2018 (N=9,131). This study examined past 30–day prevalence of marijuana vaping, and for a subset with complete data (n=5,755), the predictors of marijuana vaping among respondents asked about that behavior. Bivariate chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression estimated the extent to which various factors were associated with marijuana vaping. These factors included the current use of various substances, school-related risk behaviors, attitude and risk behaviors related to substance use, and selected sociodemographic variables. Past 30–day prevalence of marijuana vaping was higher among 10th graders, male youth, and those in the Other race/ethnicity category. Students who engaged in current past 30–day alcohol use, cigarette use, binge drinking, and nonmedical use of prescription drugs had significantly greater odds of past 30–day marijuana vaping. Past 30–day use was more common among students with a lower perceived risk of marijuana use, those who claimed that it was easy to obtain a vaporizer or marijuana, students with a lower grade point average, and those with recent truancy. Past 30–day marijuana vaping is prevalent among U.S. students, and there are robust associations between use and school- and substance-related risk behaviors. These results suggest that the emergence of vaping products might redefine populations at risk, which should be taken into account by marijuana regulatory policies or prevention programs.