Adolescents' resilience in the face of cannabis use offers: the role of cannabis-specific contexts and cognitions

Objective Adolescents who refrained from using cannabis despite having opportunities to do so represent an increasingly relevant group amid concerns about growing cannabis availability. We identified such cannabis-resilient adolescents and examined how they may differ from other youth especially in terms of prevention-relevant characteristics such as cannabis-specific contexts and cognitions. Methods Based on their self-reported cannabis use and direct use opportunities (i.e., use offers), we identified three groups from a nationally-representative cross-sectional sample of Norwegian high school students ( N = 3,425; 47.8% boys, M age = 18.2 ± 1.05): cannabis-naïve (no use/no offers; 59%), cannabis-resilient (no use despite the offers; 20.6%), and cannabis-using (20.3%). Multinomial regression models examined these three groups in relation to multiple socio-demographic, individual-level, and cannabis-related characteristics, focusing on cannabis-specific contexts (e.g., indirect use opportunities, access to cannabis) and cognitions [e.g., descriptive norms, perceived risks from trying cannabis, health knowledge, motivations for (non)use]. Findings Overall, cannabis-specific contexts but not cannabis-specific cognitions differentiated cannabis-resilient and cannabis-naive students, whereas cannabis-specific cognitions but not cannabis-specific contexts differentiated cannabis-resilient and cannabis-using students. Among other factors, more accurate cannabis descriptive norms, health knowledge and risk perceptions, as well as more legal and personal reasons for non-use were significantly associated with cannabis resilience vs. use. Conclusion Use opportunities represent necessary but not sufficient conditions for cannabis use, as cannabis-specific cognitions differentiated cannabis-resilient from cannabis-using students notwithstanding shared exposures. Consideration of these potentially modifiable protective factors—cannabis-related knowledge and (non)use motives in particular—may be vital for person-centered initiatives across social contexts increasingly marked by cannabis availability and accessibility.