Abstract

With marijuana use being at an all-time high, it is important to further analyze the factors associated with use. Utilizing the 2015-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (N=205,083), the current study assesses marijuana use among LGB adults, as well as possible mediating (health-related measures) and moderating (criminal legal system exposure) factors. Findings using a chi-square analysis showed that overall, bisexual and lesbian/gay adults were more likely to use marijuana, while those who reported "not sure" were less likely to use. For the mediation analysis, when health measures were introduced to the logistic regression model, the outcome remained the same for all respondents, except for males who identified as gay did not maintain significance. As for those exposed to the criminal legal system, the moderation analysis with logistic regression showed respondents who identified as a lesbian/gay were less likely to use marijuana. Interestingly, when examining only female respondents those who were involved in the criminal legal system and responded to not being sure of their sexual identity had increased odds of using marijuana. This study offers evidence of differences in marijuana use among LGB+ individuals and factors that impact substance use behaviors, having important implications for inclusion of "other" individuals in the LGBTQIA+ as well as the criminal legal system.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2022

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Ford, Jason

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Sociology

Degree Program

Sociology

Identifier

CFE0009223; DP0026826

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0026826

Language

English

Release Date

August 2022

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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