What topics does this cannabis study cover?

This study covers research on: Addiction.

Where was this research published?

Published in Substance use & misuse on July 31, 2026.

Political climate shapes teen cannabis and substance use

Q: What did this research study find?

Among Belgian adolescents, **left-wing orientation was associated with lower substance use**, while *radical-right orientation* was associated with higher use, including cannabis use.

The Multilevel Effects of Political Orientation and Political Climate on Substance Use Among Adolescents.

Substance use & misuse • July 31, 2026 • Moderately Relevant

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AI Summary

This study examined whether adolescents’ political orientation and the political climate of their schools were associated with use of alcohol, cannabis, cigarettes, and e-cigarettes. The researchers surveyed 11,114 Dutch-speaking Belgian students aged 14–18 across 44 secondary schools. Students with left-wing views reported lower substance use, while those with radical-right views reported higher use.

The school environment also mattered. Individual political orientation was linked to substance use differently depending on the surrounding school climate, with radical-right orientation showing the strongest association with substance use in radical-right school settings. The findings do not show that political beliefs cause cannabis or other substance use, but they suggest that peer and institutional environments can shape how these associations appear. The authors recommend policies that strengthen adolescents’ critical reasoning about science and pseudoscience.

💡 Key Findings

Among Belgian adolescents, left-wing orientation was associated with lower substance use, while radical-right orientation was associated with higher use, including cannabis use.

Good

75%

The association between political orientation and substance use depended on the surrounding school climate; radical-right orientation was linked to the greatest substance use in radical-right school environments.

Good

75%

The findings support a contextual view of adolescent substance use, but the abstract does not establish that political orientation or school climate directly causes cannabis use.

High

80%

The authors recommend strengthening adolescents’ critical reasoning about science versus pseudoscience as part of policy efforts addressing substance use.

Good

65%

📄 Original Abstract

The present study focuses on the extent to which individual political orientation and political school climate are related to the use of alcohol, cannabis, cigarettes, and e-cigarettes. We sampled 11,114 Belgian (Dutch-speaking) students from 44 secondary schools in the four highest grades (age 14-18). Left-wing orientation predicted lower substance use, while radical-right orientation predicted higher use. No main effect of left-wing school climate emerged, but several cross-level interactions showed that individual political orientation effects depend on school context. A noteworthy finding was that radical-right orientation predicted greater substance use most strongly in radical-right climates. The present findings highlight the contextual nature of political orientation: individual-level effects are moderated by the school-level political climate. Given the elevated levels of substance use among radical right-wing individuals in radical right school climates, we suggest that policy efforts should foster adolescents' critical reasoning about science versus pseudoscience.

Paper Type

📄 Research

Publication

Journal: Substance use & misuse
Published: July 31, 2026
PMID: 42537880
DOI: 10.1080/10826084.2026.2709656

Authors (8)

Alain Van Hiel Department of Developmental, Personality, and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Kim Dierckx Department of Developmental, Personality, and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Dries Bostyn Department of Developmental, Personality, and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Tessa Haesevoets Department of Developmental, Personality, and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
James Johnson The Weber Group of Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
+3 more authors