Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39832056›Full record

ArticlePrevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research2025

Model Building with Youth: Applying a System Science Approach to Examine the Dynamic Social Context of Adolescent and Young Adult Marijuana Use.

Pamela A Matson, Sarah Flessa, Ivana Stankov, J Dennis Fortenberry, Maria Trent, Leah Frerichs, Kristen Hassmiller Lich

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Pamela A MatsonDepartment of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 200 N. Wolfe St., David M. Rubenstein Child Health Building, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA. pmatson@jhmi.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-4488-7024
Sarah FlessaDepartment of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 200 N. Wolfe St., David M. Rubenstein Child Health Building, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.
Ivana StankovUniSA Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, SAHMRI, North Tce, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia.
J Dennis FortenberryDepartment of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Maria TrentDepartment of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 200 N. Wolfe St., David M. Rubenstein Child Health Building, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.
Leah FrerichsDepartment of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Kristen Hassmiller LichDepartment of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

Funding

The Social Context of Adolescent Marijuana Use: A Systems ApproachK01DA035387 · NIDA · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI MATSON, PAMELA A · 2014 to 2018
$923k
NIDA NIH HHS K01DA035387
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Marijuana use in adolescence is associated with significant adverse outcomes. Romantic relationships are an important context for marijuana use. Prior research suggests a bi-directional relationship between marijuana use and relationship functioning; however, the complex interplay between adolescent relationship dynamics and marijuana use remains unclear. We engaged youth to participate in group model building, a system science approach, to understand from their perspective how social complexities influence the uptake, continuation, and escalation of marijuana use. Two independent groups of clinic and community-recruited youth aged 15-20 participated in a series of four 2-h workshops. Through structured activities, participants generated a causal loop diagram (CLD) representing critical features of the complex and dynamic social system impacting marijuana use for youth in their community. The CLD that emerged represents the mental models of youth and features fourteen feedback loops, including balancing and reinforcing loops, across three domains. These interrelated domains span within-relationship behaviors, factors proximal to marijuana use, and influences on the partner pool, which impact the quality of adolescent romantic relationships and contribute to a high prevalence of marijuana use among youth. Applying a system perspective offers new insights on how stress, and behaviors within relationships in response to stress, feed back to magnify relationship dysfunction and fuel marijuana use. This model provides a new foundation for future research and data collection to better understand and test the identified relationships and feedback loops. Our findings further underscore the importance of educational programs that teach youth about healthy relationship dynamics and stress-coping approaches that do not involve substance use. Understanding how factors function as a system provides important information toward illuminating relationship dynamics and designing more impactful and synergistic interventions.

Indexed as

Marijuana UseSocial EnvironmentSystems AnalysisAdolescentFemaleHumansMaleYoung AdultAdolescentCannabisFeedback loopGroup model buildingMarijuanaRomantic relationshipStress proliferationSystem scienceWeedYoung adult

Identifiers

PMID39832056

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.