Marijuana use and its perceived influence on social and sexual behavior among adolescent girls in youth detention

Marijuana is associated with sexual risk-taking behaviors that can result in HIV infection and a host of other undesired outcomes. Its use is high among youth who engage in delinquent behavior. The present study examines marijuana use and its perceived influence on social and sexual behavior among adolescent girls in youth detention.

Project SHARP was a theory-based experimental investigation of the effects of an intervention to reduce future drug and alcohol use, risky sexual behavior, and delinquency among detained youth. Baseline data were collected from female participants (N=1380) through face-to-face interviews in private settings with trained interviewers matched by gender. Interviews encompassed several measures including demographics, marijuana use, and perceived influence of marijuana on social (á=.95) and sexual (á=.93) behavior.

Lifetime marijuana use was reported by 72% of the sample. Participants reporting no lifetime use had significantly higher mean scores for both social (m=20.24, p<.001) and sexual (m=20.63, p<.001) influence than those reporting marijuana use 1-2 times during their lifetime (m=15.18, p<.001; m=18.85, p<.001, respectively). Marijuana use in the month preceding detention was also significant (p< .001) with mean scores for social influence increasingly higher with greater use.

Findings suggest the importance of interventions to address and alter girls' perceptions of marijuana influence on social and sexual behavior. Experimentation may lead to disillusionment with early experiences of marijuana use. This could represent an important point of intervention for a special population within the borders of the juvenile justice system to aid in their successful transition beyond those borders.