Personality, marijuana norms, and marijuana outcomes among college students

Based on the high prevalence of marijuana use among college students, we examined distal and proximal antecedents to marijuana-related outcomes in this population. Specifically, we examined three marijuana-related perceptions (descriptive norms, injunctive norms, and internalization of college marijuana use culture) as potential mediators of the associations between four personality traits (impulsivity, sensation seeking, hopelessness, and anxiety sensitivity) and marijuana-related outcomes (marijuana use, negative marijuana-related consequences). In a large sample of college student marijuana users (n=2129), our path analysis revealed marijuana-related perceptions to significantly mediate the associations between personality and marijuana-related outcomes. Specifically, internalization of college marijuana use culture mediated the effects of both impulsivity and sensation seeking on marijuana-related outcomes. Not only do our findings suggest the importance of distinct types of marijuana-related norms in predicting marijuana involvement, but also the possibility that such normative beliefs could be targeted as part of personality-tailored interventions. •We examined impulsivity, sensation seeking, hopelessness, and anxiety sensitivity.•We examined marijuana descriptive norms, injunctive norms, and internalized norms.•Marijuana norms fully/partially mediated personality-marijuana outcome associations.•Internalized norms mediated the effects of impulsivity and sensation seeking.•Normative beliefs could be targeted as part of personality-tailored interventions.