How parents' marijuana use affects teenagers
Understanding the links between parental and adolescent substance use:complementary natural experiments using the children of twins design
This project looks at whether and how parents' marijuana use is linked to their children's marijuana use, focusing on families with adolescents and young adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Colorado NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boulder, UNITED STATES) |
| Project ID | NIH-11312613 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This work follows families in Colorado and Minnesota to understand links between parental marijuana use and teen or young adult substance use. It uses a children-of-twins design to help separate inherited risk from parenting or home environment, and also compares patterns across two states with very different marijuana laws. Researchers use existing, multi-wave data from about 6,457 parents and adolescents from 1,902 families in long-running twin cohorts to track behavior over time. If you participate, the team would use your family information and past survey data rather than offer a medical treatment.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are parents and their adolescent or young adult children (roughly ages 12–21), especially families in Colorado or Minnesota or those already in the twin cohorts.
Not a fit: People without children, adults outside the study age range, or families not located in Colorado or Minnesota are unlikely to be eligible or directly benefit from joining.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could guide better prevention programs and policies to lower teen marijuana use by clarifying whether parental behavior or inherited risk is the bigger driver.
How similar studies have performed: Prior family and twin studies have documented genetic and family links to substance use, but combining children-of-twins methods with cross-state policy comparisons is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
Boulder, UNITED STATES
- University of Colorado — Boulder, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Rhee, Soo H — University of Colorado
- Study coordinator: Rhee, Soo H
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.