Developmental Trajectories of Marijuana Use among Men: Examining Linkages with Criminal Behavior and Psychopathic Features into the Mid-30s

OBJECTIVES:

Examine whether young men who chronically use marijuana are at risk for engaging in drug-related and non-drug-related criminal offending and exhibiting psychopathic personality features in their mid-30s.

METHODS:

Patterns of marijuana use were delineated in a sample of predominately Black and White young men from adolescence to the mid-20s using latent class growth curve analysis. Self-report and official records of criminal offending and psychopathic personality features were assessed in the mid-30s. Analyses controlled for multiple factors indicative of a preexisting antisocial lifestyle and co-occurring use of other substances and tested for moderation by race.

RESULTS:

Four latent marijuana trajectory groups were identified: chronic high, adolescence-limited, late increasing, and low/nonusers. Relative to low/nonusers, chronic high and late increasing marijuana users exhibited more adult psychopathic features and were more likely to engage in drug-related offending during their mid-30s. Adolescence-limited users were similar to low/nonusers in terms of psychopathic features but were more likely to be arrested for drug-related crimes. No trajectory group differences were found for violence or theft, and the group differences were not moderated by race.

CONCLUSIONS:

Young men who engage in chronic marijuana use from adolescence into their 20s are at increased risk for exhibiting psychopathic features, dealing drugs, and enduring drug-related legal problems in their mid-30s relative to men who remain abstinent or use infrequently.

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By: Pardini D1, Bechtold J1, Loeber R2, White H3.

• 1Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
• 2Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA ; Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
• 3Center of Alcohol Studies/Department of Sociology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA. 

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