Other Titles
An Ecological Mediation Model of Adolescent Marijuana Use [Poster Title]
Other Titles
Rising Star Poster/Presentation
Abstract
Purpose: This study explores how activity space collective efficacy strengthens families to buffer against depressive symptoms, which may lead to substance use. By identifying these pathways, we aim to improve prevention strategies.
Methods: Data from the Adolescent Health Development in Context study (n = 1,538) were used for mediation models with 10,000 bootstrap draws. The main predictor was activity space collective efficacy. Mediators were family support and depressive symptoms. The outcome was marijuana use. Models controlled for age, sex, race, caregiver education, and baseline marijuana use.
Results: Collective efficacy predicted increased family support (cross-sectional β = 0.134, 95% CI [0.065, 0.204]; longitudinal β = 0.141, 95% CI [0.036, 0.241]). Higher family support predicted decreased depressive symptoms (cross-sectional β = -0.448, 95% CI [-0.499, -0.398]; longitudinal β = -0.430, 95% CI [-0.514, -0.351]). Depressive symptoms were associated with marijuana use (cross-sectional β = 0.231, 95% CI [0.146, 0.315]; longitudinal β = 0.238, 95% CI [0.003, 0.459]). The indirect collective efficacy path bypassing family support was significant longitudinally (β = -0.032, 95% CI [-0.085, -0.004]). Notably, the collective efficacy indirect effect via family support and depressive symptoms was negatively associated with marijuana use (cross-sectional β = -0.014, 95% CI [-0.025, -0.006]; longitudinal β = -0.014, 95% CI [-0.041, -0.001]).
Conclusions: These findings show that collective efficacy in activity spaces protects adolescents. While family reduces mental health and substance use risks, where youth spend time influences internalizing symptoms. Prevention should strengthen family protection and collective efficacy.
Notes
Funding Acknowledgement:
Work supported by: National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA032371; R01DA042080; R21DA034960); the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute on Child Health and Human Development (the Ohio State University Institute for Population Research, P2CHD058484), the W.T. Grant Foundation, and the National Science Foundation (SES 2029043).
References:
1. Browning, C. R., Calder, C. A., Boettner, B., Tarrence, J., Khan, K., Soller, B., & Ford, J. L. (2021). Neighborhoods, activity spaces, and the span of adolescent exposures. American Sociological Review, 86(2), 201–233. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122421994219
2. Buttazzoni, A., Doherty, S., & Minaker, L. (2022). How do urban environments affect young people’s mental health? A novel conceptual framework to bridge public health, planning, and neurourbanism. Public Health Reports®, 137(1), 48–61. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033354920982088
3. Hoeben, E. M., & Bernasco, W. (2025). Beyond the borders of the residential neighborhood: Unstructured socializing, collective efficacy, and adolescent delinquency. Justice Quarterly, 0(0), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2025.2551793
4. Lawrence, T. I., Otto, E., Brown, D., Belle, A., Amador, B., & Smith, M. (2025). Measuring the longitudinal and reciprocal associations of adolescent alcohol, cannabis use, and depressive symptoms across four time points. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-025-01562-7
5. Lee, J., Matsuda, Y., Messinger, D. S., O’Shea, T. M., Pan, Y., & Jr, H. P. S. (2026). Neighborhood collective efficacy and children and adolescents’ externalizing behaviors across development: A systematic review. PLOS ONE, 21(1), e0337512. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0337512
6. Hoeben, E. M., & Bernasco, W. (2025). Beyond the borders of the residential neighborhood: Unstructured socializing, collective efficacy, and adolescent delinquency. Justice Quarterly, 0(0), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2025.2551793
Sigma Membership
Epsilon
Lead Author Affiliation
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Longitudinal Study
Research Approach
Quantitative Research
Keywords:
Marijuana, Marijuana Abuse, Teenagers, Ecological Models, Substance Use of Youth, Depression in Adolescence, Mental Illness Risk Factors
Recommended Citation
Ortega, Ricardo Zamarripa; Browning, Christopher; and Ford, Jodi L., "Ecological Determinants of Youth Marijuana Use: A Longitudinal Mediation Model" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 109.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/posters_2026/109
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Invited Presentation
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-09-16
Ecological Determinants of Youth Marijuana Use: A Longitudinal Mediation Model
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Purpose: This study explores how activity space collective efficacy strengthens families to buffer against depressive symptoms, which may lead to substance use. By identifying these pathways, we aim to improve prevention strategies.
Methods: Data from the Adolescent Health Development in Context study (n = 1,538) were used for mediation models with 10,000 bootstrap draws. The main predictor was activity space collective efficacy. Mediators were family support and depressive symptoms. The outcome was marijuana use. Models controlled for age, sex, race, caregiver education, and baseline marijuana use.
Results: Collective efficacy predicted increased family support (cross-sectional β = 0.134, 95% CI [0.065, 0.204]; longitudinal β = 0.141, 95% CI [0.036, 0.241]). Higher family support predicted decreased depressive symptoms (cross-sectional β = -0.448, 95% CI [-0.499, -0.398]; longitudinal β = -0.430, 95% CI [-0.514, -0.351]). Depressive symptoms were associated with marijuana use (cross-sectional β = 0.231, 95% CI [0.146, 0.315]; longitudinal β = 0.238, 95% CI [0.003, 0.459]). The indirect collective efficacy path bypassing family support was significant longitudinally (β = -0.032, 95% CI [-0.085, -0.004]). Notably, the collective efficacy indirect effect via family support and depressive symptoms was negatively associated with marijuana use (cross-sectional β = -0.014, 95% CI [-0.025, -0.006]; longitudinal β = -0.014, 95% CI [-0.041, -0.001]).
Conclusions: These findings show that collective efficacy in activity spaces protects adolescents. While family reduces mental health and substance use risks, where youth spend time influences internalizing symptoms. Prevention should strengthen family protection and collective efficacy.
Description
This poster examines how collective efficacy in places where youth frequently spend time strengthens family support and reduces depressive symptoms to prevent marijuana use. Using longitudinal data, we identify prevention pathways that integrate family processes with the youth's everyday social environments.