Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy
Open Access

Abstract

Peer victimization was defined as the experience among children of being a target of the aggressive behavior of other children who are not siblings and not necessarily age mates. More specifically, adolescent peer victimization was defined as any aggressive behavior occurring to youth in his/her teens and perpetuated by other youth and intimate partners. Most studies with larger samples, i.e. including more than 10,000 participants, found that victimization was positively related to cannabis use at multi-variant levels. Additionally, studies considering a broader definition of the victim status, including both peer victims and perpetrator victims compared to studies differentiating peer victims from perpetrator victims were more likely to find a significant association. In studies differentiating peer victims from perpetrator victims, cannabis was more likely to be associated with perpetrator victims. These trends may suggest that cannabis use might be more strongly related to aggression, given much more studies found in significant association between cannabis use and perpetrator status. These findings are not surprising, since most cannabis consumption and aggression are expressions of problem behavior. In particular, cannabis has the potential to decrease the ability to accurately identify, evaluate, or avoid potentially dangerous persons or situations. In some, given the relative consistency in larger studies and those considering broader definitions of victim status, it may be suggested that peer victimization is clearly related to cannabis use.

Biography

Norman S Miller, MD, JD, PLLC, is the Medical Director, Detoxification and Residential Pro-grams, Bear River Health at Walloon Lake, and the President, Health Advocates PLLC. Dr. Norman Miller is a psychiatrist in East Lansing, Michigan and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Covenant Medical Center and DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital. He received his medical degree from Howard University College of Medicine and has been in practice for 41 years. He is one of 6 doctors at Covenant Medical Center and one of 26 at DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital who specialize in Psychiatry.

Email: matthewsalexandri@gmail.com