Cannabis use and vulnerability for psychosis in early adolescence—a TRAILS study
Merel F. H. Griffith‐Lendering, Johanna T. W. Wigman, Andrea Prince van Leeuwen, Stephan C. J. Huijbregts, Anja C. Huizink, Johan Ormel, Frank C Verhulst, Jim van Os, Hanna Swaab, Wilma Vollebergh
Addiction December 10, 2012 DOI: 10.1111/add.12050 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort (cross-lagged path analysis) Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 2,120 |
| Population | Dutch adolescents in the TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS), assessed at mean ages 13.6, 16.3, and 19.1 |
| Duration | Three assessments at mean ages 13.6, 16.3, and 19.1 years |
| Measures | Youth Self-Report (thought problems, social problems, attention problems subscales), Adult Self-Report (thought problems, social problems, attention problems subscales), self-reported past-year cannabis use |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Citations | 67 |
| Key findings | Cannabis use at age 16 predicted psychosis vulnerability at age 19, and psychosis vulnerability at ages 13 and 16 predicted later cannabis use, indicating a bidirectional association. The authors suggest this reflects a bidirectional causal relationship between the two. |
Abstract
Aims: To examine the direction of the longitudinal association between vulnerability for psychosis and cannabis use throughout adolescence.
Design: Cross-lagged path analysis was used to identify the temporal order of vulnerability for psychosis and cannabis use, while controlling for gender, family psychopathology, alcohol use and tobacco use.
Setting: A large prospective population study of Dutch adolescents [the TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS) study].
Participants: A total of 2120 adolescents with assessments at (mean) age 13.6, age 16.3 and age 19.1.
Measurements: Vulnerability for psychosis at the three assessment points was represented by latent factors derived from scores on three scales of the Youth Self-Report and the Adult Self-Report, i.e. thought problems, social problems and attention problems. Participants self-reported on cannabis use during the past year at all three waves.
Findings: Significant associations (r = 0.12-0.23) were observed between psychosis vulnerability and cannabis use at all assessments. Also, cannabis use at age 16 predicted psychosis vulnerability at age 19 (Z = 2.6, P < 0.05). Furthermore, psychosis vulnerability at ages 13 (Z = 2.0, P < 0.05) and 16 (Z = 3.0, P < 0.05) predicted cannabis use at, respectively, ages 16 and 19.
Conclusions: Cannabis use predicts psychosis vulnerability in adolescents and vice versa, which suggests that there is a bidirectional causal association between the two.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on cannabis, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-potency cannabis and the risk of psychosis People with first episode of psychosis and healthy controls from the local population | 2009 | Case-control study | n = 454 |
| Ayahuasca-Assisted Therapy for Addiction: Results from a Preliminary Observational Study in Canada Rural aboriginal population | 2013 | Observational study | |
| Impaired cognitive performance in drug free users of recreational ecstasy (MDMA) Otherwise healthy young people | 2000 | Observational | |
| Continued cannabis use and risk of incidence and persistence of psychotic symptoms: 10 year follow-up cohort study Individuals from the general population in Germany aged 14-24 at baseline | 2011 | Observational cohort | n = 1,923 |
| Cannabis-induced psychosis and subsequent schizophrenia-spectrum disorders: follow-up study of 535 incident cases Patients treated for cannabis-induced psychotic symptoms in Denmark between 1994 and... | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 535 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 10
- Psychotic experiences are linked to cannabis use in adolescents in the community because of common underlying environmental risk factors Psychiatry Research April 15, 2015
- Cognitive mechanisms in cannabis-related paranoia; Initial testing and model proposal Psychosis May 13, 2020
- Cannabis and Psychosis: A Review of the Risk Factors Involved American Journal of Plant Sciences 2020
- The relationship between recreational cannabis use, psychotic-like experiences, and the salience network in adolescent and young adult twins. Psychological Medicine October 7, 2025
- Psychosis Spectrum Symptoms Before and After Adolescent Cannabis Use Initiation. JAMA Psychiatry November 6, 2024
and 5 more in the library
Cites 9
- Continued cannabis use and risk of incidence and persistence of psychotic symptoms: 10 year follow-up cohort study BMJ March 1, 2011
- Adolescent brain maturation, the endogenous cannabinoid system and the neurobiology of cannabis-induced schizophrenia. Progress in Neurobiology November 2010
- Opposite effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol on human brain function and psychopathology. Neuropsychopharmacology November 18, 2009
- Relations of Pre-Onset Cannabis, Alcohol, and Tobacco Use with the Age at Onset of Prodrome and Age at Onset of Psychosis in First-Episode Patients American Journal of Psychiatry October 1, 2009
- Psychotic-Like Experiences in a Community Sample of Adolescents: Implications for the Continuum Model of Psychosis and Prediction of Schizophrenia The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry February 1, 2009
and 4 more in the library