Parental sociodemographic profiles in relation to mental health, cannabis use motives, and cannabis use behaviors among a sample of US young adult parents.

Latent class analysis identified four distinct sociodemographic profiles among US young adult parents.

• Class 1 was characterized as 'older married males with ≥ Bachelor's degree, full-time employment, 1-2 children' (18.4% of sample)
• Class 2 was characterized as 'younger single/cohabitating females with < Bachelor's degree, 1-2 children' (37.9% of sample)
• Class 3 was characterized as 'older married females with 1-3+ children' (30.3% of sample)
• Class 4 was characterized as 'older single/cohabitating females with < Bachelor's degree, 3+ children' (13.3% of sample)
• Analysis was based on 2023 survey data from 1,247 US young adult parents using age, number of children, education, marital status, employment, and sex as classification variables

Class 2 and Class 4 parents displayed higher odds of past-month cannabis use compared to Class 1 parents.

• Both Class 2 (younger single/cohabitating females with < Bachelor's degree) and Class 4 (older single/cohabitating females with < Bachelor's degree, 3+ children) showed elevated odds of past-month cannabis use versus Class 1
• Multivariable regression analyses were used to examine these associations among all 1,247 participants
• Class 1 (older married males with ≥ Bachelor's degree, full-time employment) served as the reference group

Class 2 parents displayed higher odds of depressive and anxiety symptoms, which were in turn associated with past-month cannabis use.

• Class 2 was characterized by younger age, single/cohabitating status, female sex, and < Bachelor's degree education with 1-2 children
• Depressive/anxiety symptoms were examined as a mediating factor between class membership and past-month cannabis use
• This association was identified among analyses of all participants (n=1,247)

Among parents reporting past-month cannabis use, Class 2 and Class 3 displayed more frequent use and greater coping motives compared to Class 1.

• Both Class 2 (younger single/cohabitating females with < Bachelor's degree) and Class 3 (older married females with 1-3+ children) showed more frequent cannabis use than Class 1
• Both Class 2 and Class 3 endorsed greater coping motives for cannabis use relative to Class 1
• Coping motives were themselves associated with more frequent cannabis use among past-month users
• These analyses were conducted among the subset of participants reporting past-month cannabis use

Class 1 parents displayed the greatest risk of cannabis use consequences and driving under the influence (DUI) of cannabis among past-month users.

• Class 1 was characterized as older married males with ≥ Bachelor's degree, full-time employment, and 1-2 children
• Despite Class 1 having lower odds of past-month cannabis use overall, among those who did use, they showed the highest risk for use consequences and DUI of cannabis
• This finding was identified through multivariable regression analyses conducted among past-month cannabis users only

Past-month cannabis use has increased among US parents, motivating the examination of sociodemographic and psychosocial factors associated with parental cannabis use.

• The authors note that 'past-month cannabis use has increased among US parents'
• Little prior work had identified factors associated with parental cannabis use prior to this study
• The study examined cannabis use motives, use frequency, consequences, and DUI of cannabis as key behavioral outcomes