Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jun 1:151:173-80.
doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.03.017. Epub 2015 Mar 27.

Neighborhood-level and individual-level correlates of cannabis use among young persons living with HIV/AIDS

Douglas Bruce  1 , Shoshana Y Kahana  2 , Jose A Bauermeister  3 , Sharon L Nichols  4 , Lisa B Hightow-Weidman  5 , Justin E Heinze  3 , Jaclyn Shea  6 , M Isabel Fernández  7 ; Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions
Collaborators, Affiliations

Neighborhood-level and individual-level correlates of cannabis use among young persons living with HIV/AIDS

Douglas Bruce et al. Drug Alcohol Depend. .

Abstract

Introduction: In addition to individual characteristics, there may be a wide range of environmental or neighborhood stressors that contribute to elevated cannabis use in groups of youth living with HIV/AIDS (YLHIV); however, the effects of social disorganization on cannabis use in YLHIV to date have not been studied.

Methods: We examined the effects of individual-level and neighborhood-level factors by developing hierarchical generalized linear models estimating odds of current cannabis use (any use during the past 3 months) and daily cannabis use among a sample of YLHIV (N = 1921) currently receiving medical care.

Results: The final model for daily cannabis use in the past 3 months included significant positive effects associated with hostility (O.R. = 1.08, 95% C.I.: 1.05, 1.11), being older (O.R. = 1.12, 95% C.I.: 1.05, 1.20), being a bisexual male (O.R. = 1.72, 95% C.I.: 1.10, 2.70), and residing in a community with a murder rate in the highest quartile (O.R. = 1.91, 95% C.I.: 1.27, 2.87), second highest quartile (O.R. = 1.62, 95% C.I.: 1.06, 2.46), or third highest quartile (O.R. = 1.52, 95% C.I.: 1.01, 2.30).

Discussion: This paper advances our knowledge of the multilevel factors associated with elevated cannabis use among groups of YLHIV and furthers our understanding of social and structural determinants of health in this population. Future research into cannabis use among YLHIV should consider, not only cannabis use within the context of the adjustment of living with HIV/AIDS, but also the stressors that characterize the environments in which groups of YLHIV live.

Keywords: Bisexual; Cannabis (marijuana); HIV/AIDS; Neighborhood; Social disorganization; Youth.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Abrams DI, Hilton JF, Leiser RJ, Shade SB, Elbeik TA, Aweeka FT, Benowitz NL, Bredt BM, Kosel B, Aber JA, Deeks SG, Mitchell TF, Mulligan K, Bacchetti P, McCune JM, Schambelan M. Short-term effects of cannabinoids in patients with HIV-1 infection: a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial. Ann Int Med. 2003;139:258–266. - PubMed
    1. Abrams DI, Jay CA, Shade SB, Vizoso H, Reda H, Press S, Kelly ME, Rowbotham MC, Peterson KL. Cannabis in painful HIV-associated sensory neuropathy: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Neurology. 2007;68:515–521. - PubMed
    1. Agronick G, O’Donnell L, Stueve A, San Doval A, Duran R, Vargo A. Sexual behaviors and risks among bisexually-identified and gay-identified young Latino men. AIDS Behav. 2004;8:185–197. - PubMed
    1. Allison P. Fixed Effects Regression Models. Sage; Thousand Oaks, CA: 2009.
    1. Armstrong TE, Costello EJ. Community studies on adolescent substance use, abuse, or dependence and psychiatric morbidity. J Consult Clin Pscyhol. 2002;70:1224–1239. - PubMed

Publication types