How cannabis-using students imagine a desired future
Method Stream: Qualitative Research
ECs: Only 23 EC (larger thesis with new/own data collection. Applicable in case of students with an education/research internship)
Description:
Cannabis use is notably prevalent among international students in the Netherlands, with 56% reporting use compared to 33% of Dutch students, often fueled by peer pressure, cultural adaptation, and perceived norms that frame the country as a “drugs paradise” (van den Bos et al., 2024). These factors suggest cannabis plays a significant role in community life and identity formation. Järvinen and Ravn (2015) highlight how young users construct identity narratives around cannabis use, ranging from fatalistic to agentic, shaping both self-understanding and imagined futures. Mostaghim and Hathaway (2013) further show that cannabis use among Canadian students functions as a symbolic identity marker, with flexible user/non-user roles embedded in peer group dynamics. This thesis explores how such identity narratives intersect with students’ ability to vividly imagine future selves—a mechanism linked to behavioral regulation (Van Gelder et al., 2013; Sofis et al., 2021).
Using Sools’ (2020) narrative futuring method, current cannabis-using international students will write letters from a desired future and share them with peers. These letters will be qualitatively analyzed for themes of identity, belonging, master and counter narratives, and agency.
Potential Research Questions:
- How do cannabis-using international students narrate their desired futures in relation to identity and wellbeing?
- How vividly and concretely is agency depicted in these future-oriented narratives?
References
Järvinen, M., & Ravn, S. (2015). Explanations and expectations: drug narratives among young cannabis users in treatment. Sociology of Health & Illness, 37(6), 870–887.
Mostaghim, A., & Hathaway, A. D. (2013). Identity Formation, Marijuana and “The Self”: A Study of Cannabis Normalization among University Students. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 4.
Sofis, M. J., Lemley, S. M., Jacobson, N. C., & Budney, A. J. (2021). Initial evaluation of domain-specific episodic future thinking on delay discounting and cannabis use. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 30(6), 918–927.
Sools, A. (2020). Back from the future: A narrative approach to study the imagination of personal futures. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 23(4), 451–465.
Van Den Bos, A., Blaauw, E., Venema, S., & Bieleman, B. (2024). Substance Use among International College Students in The Netherlands: An Exploratory Study. Youth, 4(1), 97–106. https://doi.org/10.3390/youth4010007
Van Gelder, J., Hershfield, H. E., & Nordgren, L. F. (2013). Vividness of the future self predicts delinquency. Psychological Science, 24(6), 974–980. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612465197