Psychosocial Context of Marijuana Use in SchoolChildren

Overview

The authors refer to the risks of using cannabis among pupils of 8th and 9th grade of basic schools andstudents of 3rd and 4th grades of eight-year grammar schools in Prague and České Budějovice. 17.3% of1431 adolescents at the average age of 14.5 years reported an experience with marijuana or hashishduring last year. Between the age of 14 and 15, an experience with cannabis increased from 12% to22%. 7.7% reported regular (once a month and more often) use of cannabis. The authors found a higherprevalence of cannabis use among Prague adolescents; no signifi cant difference was found betweenboys and girls. In comparison with their peers users of cannabis spent more often their leisure timein a bunch, they went out for entertainment in the evening more often, they had higher pocket money,they spent less time with their parents, they had confl icting relationship with one of their parents,more often they reported that one of their parents had problems with alcohol. They smoked, drankalcohol and had an experience with other drugs more often. In Windle’s questionnaire showed higherscore in a scale of attention disorder and hyperactivity, opposing disorder and behaviour disorders.Also a higher score of anomie and depression was found in them.

Key words:
addictions, cannabis, behaviour disorders, adolescence.