Background: Research suggests emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic risk factor for substance use and addiction and that stress may lead to problematic cannabis use. Thus, the current study examines how emotion dysregulation moderates the associations between stress (stressful life events and perceived stress) and problematic cannabis use.Methods: Eight hundred and fifty-two adults reporting any lifetime cannabis use completed an anonymous online survey. Participants completed a brief demographic questionnaire and were asked to report their past 30-day use of cannabis, alcohol, nicotine, and illicit substances. Problematic cannabis use (via the Marijuana Problem Scale), emotion dysregulation (via the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale), perceived stress (via the Perceived Stress Scale), and stressful life events (via the Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory) were assessed. Hierarchical multiple linear regressions were conducted.Results: Findings indicate that when examining the moderating role of emotion dysregulation, more stressful life events and less perceived stress were associated with more severe problematic cannabis use, and these associations were stronger at higher levels of emotion dysregulation.Conclusions: These results demonstrate a strong step toward understanding how emotion dysregulation moderates the relationship between stress and problematic cannabis use; however, longitudinal studies are needed to determine directionality of effects. Overall, these results suggest the importance of examining emotion dysregulation as a moderator of both stressful life events and stress perception as they relate to problematic cannabis use.
Background. Research consistently finds that male cannabis users report greater problematic cannabis use (i.e., negative outcomes related to one’s cannabis use), compared to female cannabis users. Further, emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic risk factor for substance use and addiction and is associated with greater problematic cannabis use. Therefore, the current study examined whether sex moderates associations between emotion dysregulation (overall and dimensions of emotion dysregulation) and problematic cannabis use. Methods. 741 adults reporting past-month cannabis use (31.44% female) completed an online anonymous survey, including questions on demographics, substance use, problematic cannabis use (via the Marijuana Problem Scale) and emotion dysregulation (via the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale). Independent samples t-tests and hierarchical multiple linear regressions were performed. Results. Male cannabis users reported significantly higher scores on overall emotion dysregulation and five of six dimensions (nonacceptance, impulse, awareness, strategies, and clarity) compared to female cannabis users. Further, sex moderated associations between emotion dysregulation (overall, nonacceptance, goals, impulse, awareness, and strategies) and problematic cannabis use. Overall, nonacceptance, goals, impulse, and strategies were positively associated with problematic cannabis use, and these relationships were stronger in male cannabis users. Lack of emotional awareness was negatively associated with problematic cannabis use in male cannabis users and no relationship was found for female cannabis users. Conclusions. Overall, these results denote the importance of examining individual differences in emotion dysregulation as they relate to problematic cannabis use. Interventions and treatments may need to be tailored for male cannabis users with a focus on specific emotion dysregulation dimensions.
Objective: We examined the extent to which behavioral ratings of children's executive function (EF) in early adolescence predicted adolescents' cannabis use, and whether associations were independent of parents' cannabis and alcohol use and adolescents' alcohol use. Method: Participants were 198 offspring (44% boys) of 127 mothers and 106 fathers. Parents and teachers completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) at ages 11-14 years. Youth were interviewed repeatedly from ages 14 to 20 years regarding frequency of cannabis and alcohol use. Two-level models regressed dichotomous cannabis outcomes (annual, weekly, or daily use) on age at the within-person level and the random intercept of cannabis use on EF, parent substance use, and covariates (age 7 IQ indicators, child gender, parent education, and mean of ages assessed) at the between-person level. Results: Poorer child EF predicted significantly ( p < .05) higher likelihood of weekly (b[SE] = .64[.24]) and daily (b[SE] = .65[.25]), but not annual (b[SE] = .38[.22]), cannabis use. Parent cannabis use (b[SE] = .53[.25] to .81[.39], p < .05) independently predicted all three outcomes, and effects were distinct from those explained by parent alcohol use (b[SE] = .66[.29] to .81[.35], p < .05). EF remained a significant predictor of weekly and daily cannabis use after adjusting for parental alcohol and cannabis use, and adolescents' alcohol use. Conclusions: Children exhibiting poorer EF were more likely to use cannabis weekly and daily in later adolescence.Whereas literature suggests poorer EF may be a consequence of cannabis use, these findings suggest EF should be considered prior to cannabis use initiation. EF during childhood may be a fruitful prevention target. Public Health Significance StatementThis study shows that older children with poorer executive function (EF)-a subset of cognitive abilities that continue developing into early adulthood-are more likely to use cannabis during adolescence and to do so weekly or daily. This is important because prior research has suggested poorer EF is a consequence of cannabis use, whereas this study indicates poorer EF may occur before youth have even tried cannabis.
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