AUTHOR=Burdzovic Andreas Jasmina , Bretteville-Jensen Anne Line 

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

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Adolescent Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 3 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/adolescent-medicine/articles/10.3389/fradm.2025.1653788

DOI=10.3389/fradm.2025.1653788

ISSN=2813-8589

ABSTRACT=ObjectiveAdolescents 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.MethodsBased 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, Mage = 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].FindingsOverall, 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.ConclusionUse 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.