Socialization into Marijuana Use among French Adolescents: A Cross-Cultural Comparison with the United States

Correlates and predictors of marijuana use among French adolescents are described and compared to correlates among adolescents in the United States. Although prevalence of marijuana use is much lower among the French than among the Americans, within each country, adolescent marijuana use is governed by similar socio-psychological processes. Peer influences are the strongest predictors of marijuana use, especially in terms of modeling effects, and are consistently stronger than parental influences. The modeling effect of peers is consistently stronger in the United States than in France. Alcohol use, a stage of drug involvement preceding marijuana use, has only an indirect effect on marijuana involvement.