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. 2023 Dec;47(12):2366-2374.
doi: 10.1111/acer.15215. Epub 2023 Nov 1.

Cannabis craving in response to alcohol cues in the laboratory and in daily life among adolescents ages 15-17 years

Andrea M Wycoff  1 , Kristin Rogers  1 , Brianna Parlette  1 , Robert Miranda Jr  1   2 , Hayley Treloar Padovano  1   2
Affiliations

Cannabis craving in response to alcohol cues in the laboratory and in daily life among adolescents ages 15-17 years

Andrea M Wycoff et al. Alcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken). 2023 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Most adolescents who drink alcohol also use cannabis, and adolescents who use both substances experience worse long-term outcomes than adolescents who use only one or the other. Recent clinical trials with adolescents and emerging adults show that alcohol cues are associated with elevated cannabis craving in the natural environment but not in the laboratory, highlighting cross-cue reactivity as a potential intervention target. This study extends this work to a younger sample of adolescents at an earlier stage of substance use to examine the generalizability of prior findings and inform etiological mechanisms.

Methods: Participants were 81 adolescents aged 15-17 years who endorsed past-month alcohol and lifetime cannabis use. They completed a laboratory cue reactivity protocol where they rated their cannabis craving during alcohol cue and control conditions. They also completed 24 days of ecological momentary assessment where they reported multiple times per day on their cannabis craving and whether alcohol cues were visible.

Results: Mixed models demonstrated lower cannabis craving following alcohol cue presentation in the laboratory compared to control cues, but higher cannabis craving during moments when alcohol was visible in daily life compared to moments when alcohol was not visible. Frequency of cannabis use at baseline was associated with greater cannabis craving in the laboratory and in daily life regardless of cue type or alcohol visibility, and cannabis craving following alcohol cue presentation in the laboratory was positively related to daily life cannabis craving across contexts.

Conclusions: This study adds to prior work suggesting that daily life cannabis craving is elevated when alcohol cues are visible. This cross-cue reactivity may be one factor that drives and maintains alcohol and cannabis use in adolescence.

Keywords: adolescents; alcohol; cannabis; cue reactivity; ecological momentary assessment.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Laboratory cannabis and alcohol craving across cue conditions
Note. Cannabis and alcohol craving were measured on a scale from 0 (no urge) to 10 (strongest ever). Error bars represent standard error of the mean.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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