Recent cannabis use among adolescent and young adult immigrants in the Netherlands – The roles of acculturation strategy and linguistic acculturation

Background: The present study examined the relation between two different acculturation measures (i.e., linguistic acculturation and the acculturation strategies integration, separation and marginalization) and past year cannabis use. Additionally, we studied the mediating role of affiliation with cannabis-using peers. Method: Data were utilized from i4culture, a Dutch study on immigrant adolescents and young adults aged 15-24 years. Participants belonged to the five largest immigrant populations in the Netherlands, living in or around the four major Dutch cities: Amsterdam, the Hague, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. In total, 771 adolescents and young adults (mean age 19.29, SD. = 2.61, 53.8% female) from Surinamese (n= 210, 27.2%), Moroccan (n= 209, 27.1%), Turkish (n= 110, 14.3%), Antillean (n= 109, 14.1%), and Asian (n= 133, 17.3%) backgrounds participated. With questionnaires, past year cannabis use, acculturation strategy, linguistic acculturation, and affiliation with cannabis-using peers were assessed. Results: Using logistic regression analyses, we found no relation between acculturation strategy and past year cannabis use (OR. = 1.25, p= 0.38 for separation vs integration and OR. = 0.86, p= 0.50 for marginalization vs integration). Linguistic acculturation was positively related to cannabis use (OR. = 2.20, p< 0.01). Affiliation with cannabis-using peers partly mediated this relation (OR. = 1.09, p< 0.01). Conclusions: Non-Western immigrant youngsters who speak the host culture's language at home are more likely to use cannabis than youngsters who speak their native language at home. The former group is more likely to affiliate with cannabis-using peers, which partly explains their increased risk of cannabis use. © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.