Lived Experiences of Adolescent Girls with Marijuana Smoking Addiction Regarding Factors Contributing to Use and Challenges of Cessation: A Qualitative Study
Keywords:
Lived experiences, adolescent girls, marijuana, addiction, prevention, thematic analysisAbstract
Introduction and Aim: Marijuana smoking among adolescent girls is a multifactorial phenomenon shaped by emotional and cognitive vulnerabilities, family relationships, social pressures, and spiritual resources, while cessation may involve substantial psychological and interpersonal challenges. This study aimed to analyze the lived experiences of adolescent girls with a history of marijuana smoking addiction regarding factors contributing to initiation, maintenance and relapse, challenges of cessation, and protective capacities relevant to the development of preventive interventions.
Methodology: This applied qualitative study employed thematic analysis. Participants were adolescent girls aged 14–18 years living in Isfahan, Iran, with a history of marijuana smoking, who were recruited through purposive sampling until data saturation was achieved. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews. All interviews were audio-recorded with permission, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed concurrently with data collection according to Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic analysis procedure, including familiarization with the data, generation of initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and producing the final report.
Findings: The analysis yielded 46 basic concepts organized into five main themes: individual and emotional vulnerabilities underlying marijuana use; family and social factors contributing to use; the psychological process of initiation, maintenance, and relapse; psychological protective capacities; and spiritual and Islamic protective capacities. Difficulties in emotion regulation, anxiety, loneliness, low self-control, family conflict, insufficient emotional support, peer pressure, and misconceptions about marijuana facilitated initiation and continued use. Marijuana was commonly experienced as a maladaptive coping strategy for temporarily reducing negative emotions, with repeated use contributing to psychological dependence and vulnerability to relapse. In contrast, self-awareness, emotion regulation, assertiveness, problem-solving, resilience, self-efficacy, family and professional support, spirituality, trust in God, hope, self-worth, and responsibility emerged as key protective resources.
Conclusion: Adolescent girls’ marijuana use and its persistence arise from the complex interaction of emotional, cognitive, familial, social, and spiritual factors rather than from insufficient drug-related knowledge alone. Culturally grounded, multidimensional interventions integrating emotion-regulation and life-skills training with family and social support and spiritual-Islamic resources may strengthen prevention, reduce relapse risk, and facilitate successful cessation.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Afsoon Karami (Author); Mohammad Hossein Fallah; Marieh Dehghan Manshadi, Ali Nazari (Author)
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