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. 2017 Sep 1:178:136-142.
doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.05.006. Epub 2017 Jun 15.

Daily associations between cannabis motives and consumption in emerging adults

Erin E Bonar  1 , Jason E Goldstick  2 , R Lorraine Collins  3 , James A Cranford  4 , Rebecca M Cunningham  5 , Stephen T Chermack  6 , Frederic C Blow  6 , Maureen A Walton  7
Affiliations

Daily associations between cannabis motives and consumption in emerging adults

Erin E Bonar et al. Drug Alcohol Depend. .

Abstract

Background: Increasing rates of cannabis use among emerging adults is a growing public health problem. Intensive longitudinal data can provide information on proximal motives for cannabis use, which can inform interventions to reduce use among emerging adults.

Method: As part of a larger longitudinal study, patients aged 18-25 years (N=95) recruited from an urban Emergency Department completed daily text message assessments of risk behaviors for 28days, including daily cannabis quantity and motives. Using a mixed effects linear regression model, we examined the relationships between daily quantity of cannabis consumed and motives (i.e., enhancement, social, conformity, coping, and expansion).

Results: Participants were, on average, 22.0 years old (SD=2.2); 48.4% were male, 45.3% were African American, and 56.8% received public assistance. Results from the multi-level analysis (clustering day within individual), controlling for gender, race, and receipt of public assistance, indicated daily use of cannabis use for enhancement (β=0.27), coping (β=0.15), and/or social motives (β=0.34) was significantly associated with higher quantities of daily cannabis use; whereas expansion and conformity motives were not.

Conclusions: Daily data show that emerging adults who use cannabis for enhancement, social, and coping motives reported using greater quantities of cannabis. Future research should examine more comprehensive cannabis motives (e.g., boredom, social anxiety, sleep) and test tailored interventions focusing on alternative cognitive/behavioral strategies to address cannabis motives.

Keywords: Cannabis motives; Cannabis use; Emerging adults; Text messaging.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean cannabis use quantity by survey day (range 1 to 28). Note. Quantity was assessed using the following response options: <0.5g (<1 joint), 0.5g (1 joint), 1g (2 joints), 1.5g (3 joints), 2g (4 joints), or 2.5g+ (5+ joints); coded 1 to 6, respectively, for analyses. The solid black line represents cross-sectional estimates at each day, with point-wise confidence intervals in the gray shaded regions; the smooth curve estimates generated by a generalized additive model, with corresponding point-wise 95% CIs, are shown in dashed lines.
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