A New Approach to Researching the Etiology of Cannabis Use Disorder: Integrating Transmissible and Nontransmissible Risk within a Developmental Framework

Abstract

Rapidly occurring changes in law enforcement and licensing of retail outlets to sell marijuana raises the prospect that the population of consumers will expand and accordingly the prevalence of cannabis use disorder (CUD) will increase. This report presents a novel approach to researching CUD etiology joining multivariate and ontogenetic perspectives. CUD is conceptualized as a developmental outcome consisting of transmissible (intergenerational) and non-transmissible components. Partitioning the liability for CUD into these two dimensions enables implementing interventions targeted at the particular source and severity of risk. In addition, results showing that infant temperament disturbances predict transmissible risk leading to CUD two decades later underscore the importance of implementing early prevention.

Dysregulation as a correlate of cannabis use and problem use

“…Almost half of the U.S. population aged 12 or older reports lifetime use of cannabis (Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2016), and rates of use are likely to increase due to trends towards a more permissive legal environment (Hasin, 2018;Tarter, Kirisci, & Reynolds, 2014). However, only a fraction of cannabis users develop problematic forms of use (Zehra et al, 2018).…”

Longitudinal Studies on the Etiology of Cannabis Use Disorder: A Review

“…A substantial amount of work has been conducted on the construct of “intergenerational risk” for substance use disorder liability, which includes environment and genetic components shared between parents and offspring (for a review see 31). A self-report based assessment named the Transmissible Liability Index (TLI; 32) was developed to index SUD liability using items pertaining to child characteristics (e.g., externalizing and internalizing behaviors) associated with parental SUDs.…”

‘For every complex problem there is a simple solution-is it always wrong?’ (paraphrasing George Bernard Shaw)

“…In order to tackle this challenge successfully, I would argue that the provision of prevention–intervention from a bio‐psycho and ecological developmental perspective should be considered along several research key points. First, identify transmissible and non‐transmissible risk factors for the development of substance use and substance use disorders . Secondly, examine putative mechanisms of behavior change (MOBC) and match them to homogeneous subgroups of a highly heterogeneous population of (in this case) ‘high‐risk, high‐school students’ .…”

“…gender, risk factors). It is of great importance to determine how and for whom the intervention may work best .…”

“…Future directions should include an added focus on individualized personal characteristics associated with different response to intervention for both primary and secondary prevention. Furthermore, neuroscience based approaches examining psychosocial processes that affect regulation of affect and behaviors should be investigated using integrated transmissible and non‐transmissible risk within a developmental framework , as well as employ neuroimaging techniques targeting areas and pathways where MOBC might operate.…”