Intergenerational Transmission of Cannabis Use: Testing Genetic Risk and the Mitigating Influences of Parent Positive Behavior Support in Early Childhood

As the prevalence of Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) in late adolescence increases, understanding the etiology of CUD is paramount. Consistent with resilience frameworks, the current study examined whether parent cannabis use and genetic risk predicted offspring cannabis use and CUD symptoms in late adolescence. Parental positive behavior support in early childhood was considered as a possible buffer of intergenerational transmission and genetic risk for CUD. The sample consisted of 731 18-year-olds (M = 18.74, SD = 0.50; 50.2% female, 49.8% male; 50% White, 28% Black, 13% Hispanic, 9% Indigenous, Native Hawaiian, or Asian) from the Early Steps Multisite Study. Parent cannabis use was measured at offspring ages 2, 3, 4, 5, 7.5, 8.5, and 9.5, and observational positive behavior support was measured at offspring ages 2, 3, 4, and 5. A polygenic risk score for CUD (CUD PRS) was formed using the PRS-CSx Bayesian technique for genetically diverse samples. CUD symptoms were measured with the SCID-IV interview. Using negative binomial logistic regressions with maximum likelihood, parent cannabis use significantly predicted whether offspring used cannabis, while offspring CUD PRS did not. Further, parental positive behavior support significantly buffered the effect of parent cannabis use on the number of offspring CUD symptoms. Findings suggest that positive parenting in childhood may provide resilience for the intergenerational transmission of cannabis use.