Recruitment for this study is complete! Thanks for your interest.

Study Description

Full Title: Measuring Adolescent Exposure to Cannabis Marketing with Real-Time Assessment: A Field Study
Background/objectives: Policymakers, educators, and families need to know the nature and extent of Canadian adolescents’ exposure to cannabis marketing, as it can impact their attitudes, beliefs, and decisions to use cannabis. The purpose of this study is to develop and demonstrate the utility of a real-world, real-time, Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) protocol for describing the frequency and characteristics of adolescent exposures to cannabis marketing in a post-legalization environment.

Methods: Adolescents and their parents took part in focus groups to inform the pilot protocol. Adolescent participants then used a cellphone application (‘app’) to photograph and describe instances of cannabis marketing exposures as they occurred in their natural environments over the course of nine consecutive days.

Results: Results of focus groups showed that parents and teens were largely comfortable with the study protocol and supportive of its purpose. Data to be presented include key modifications to the protocol made during the pilot study, as well as preliminary results describing the frequency and nature of cannabis advertising exposures (e.g., channels, locations, brands), plus the momentary impacts on adolescent expectations and intentions to use cannabis.

Conclusion: This research will inform the development of a larger study aimed to help policymakers and community stakeholders determine if Canada’s existing cannabis marketing regulatory policies are effective, if current policy enforcement is warranted, and if additional policy types (e.g., marketing restrictions through previously unanticipated channels) are needed.

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