Pre-college perceptions of marijuana use and subsequent marijuana use in college

Previous research has shown that students who start college with perceived social norms that most student use alcohol are likely to end up using alcohol during their college career. The current study sought to extend findings from alcohol research to marijuana research. Analysis were conducted on unmatched and matched data which examined responses from a sample of first-time undergraduate students who started college at Humboldt State University in the Fall of 2004 and a sample of students from the same cohort who were enrolled in courses four years later in Spring of 2008. Results indicated that students did not select HSU for its reputation surrounding marijuana; however, students did believe that HSU promoted marijuana use. The role of descriptive and injunctive social norms and concurrent marijuana use was examined.