OBJECTIVE: Few studies have examined cannabis motives in adults and, although associations between cannabis use and psychiatric conditions are well documented, there has been limited investigation of the intersection of cannabis use, cannabis motives, and psychopathology. In a sample of community adults, the present study examined cannabis motives in relation to cannabis misuse, and investigated whether motives linked cannabis misuse with concurrent psychiatric symptoms. METHOD: Participants (N = 395; Mage = 34.8; %F = 47.6; % White = 81.3%) completed assessments related to cannabis misuse, cannabis use motives, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and somatic experiences. Bivariate correlations, hierarchical regressions, and indirect effect analyses were performed to examine associations between motives and cannabis misuse and to investigate mechanistic relationships between psychiatric symptoms and cannabis misuse. RESULTS: Regressions revealed significant associations between cannabis misuse and social (β = .13, P < .02), enhancement (β = .12, P < .02), and coping motives (β = .48, P < .001). Indirect effects were present such that coping motives consistently linked psychiatric and somatic symptoms with cannabis misuse (anxiety: unstandardized effect = 0.26,and 95% CI = 0.17-0.37; depression: unstandardized effect = 0.12, CI = 0.11-0.25; PTSD: unstandardized effect = 0.07, CI = 0.04-0.10; somatic symptoms: unstandardized effect = 0.20, CI = 0.11-0.30). In addition, enhancement motives exhibited an indirect effect (unstandardized effect = 0.02, CI = 0.002-0.04) between depressive symptoms and cannabis misuse. CONCLUSION: These results support a negative reinforcement motivational profile as the predominant pattern in adult cannabis users, albeit with links to enhancement and social motives. This motivational profile is especially pronounced with regard to comorbid psychopathology and cannabis misuse. These results support the importance of treatment strategies targeting maladaptive coping to address cannabis misuse and co-occurring psychopathology.

Objective: Research conducted with young adults has consistently identified cannabis use motives as a predictor for cannabis use and problems, but comparatively few studies have examined cannabis motives in adult samples. Furthermore, although substantive evidence has identified links between cannabis use and psychiatric conditions, limited research has examined the intersection of cannabis use, motives, and psychopathology. The present study sought to characterize cannabis use motives in an adult sample and investigate whether those motives would link relationships between cannabis misuse and psychiatric symptoms. Method: Participants (N=395; M age=34.8; %F=47.6; % White = 81.3%) completed assessments related to cannabis misuse, cannabis use motives, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and somatic experiences. Bivariate correlations, hierarchical regressions, and subsequently, mediation analyses were performed to examine associations between motives and cannabis misuse, and to investigate whether particular motives would link the relationship between cannabis misuse and psychiatric symptoms. Results: Analyses revealed statistically significant, unique associations between cannabis misuse and Social (β = .13), Enhancement (β = .12) and, particularly, Coping motives (β = .48). Further, Coping fully linked the relationship between level of cannabis misuse and depressive, anxiety, PTSD, and somatic symptoms. Conclusion: These results lend support for a negative reinforcement motivational profile as the predominant pattern in adult cannabis users, especially with regard to concurrent symptoms of cannabis use disorder and psychopathology. These results suggest that targeting maladaptive coping with cannabis may prove an effective treatment target in addressing co-occurring cannabis misuse and psychopathology.