Anxious Arousal and Anhedonic Depression Symptoms and the Frequency of Current Marijuana Use: Testing the Mediating Role of Marijuana-Use Coping Motives Among Active Users

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective: The present investigation examined anxious arousal and anhedonic depression symptoms in relation to frequency of past-30-day marijuana use, as well as the role of marijuana-use coping motives in terms of mediating this relation. Method: The present sample included current young adult marijuana users (N = 154; 48.1% female; mean [SD] age = 20.75 [5.97] years) who were recruited via study fl yers and printed advertisements in local newspapers placed throughout the Burlington, VT, community. Results: After controlling for daily cigarette smoking rate, alcohol consumption, and gender, anxious arousal symptoms, but not anhedonic depression symptoms, were signifi cantly and uniquely associated with the frequency of marijuana use. In addition, coping motives for marijuana use mediated the relation between anxious arousal symptoms and the frequency of current marijuana use. Conclusions: These results provide novel information related to the explanatory role of marijuana-use coping motives in the relation between anxious arousal symptoms and the frequency of marijuana use among young adult active users. Clinical implications for the current fi ndings are discussed. (J. Stud Alcohol Drugs 70: [543][544][545][546][547][548][549][550] 2009)

Where Is the Pleasure in That? Low Hedonic Capacity Predicts Smoking Onset and Escalation

“…Indeed, other studies have demonstrated associations between anhedonia and use of other drugs, including cocaine and amphetamine ( Leventhal et al, 2008( Leventhal et al, , 2010, cannabis ( BonnMiller, Zvolensky, Marshall, & Bernstein, 2007 ;Dorard, Berthoz, Phan, Corcos, & Bungener, 2008 ;Dumas et al, 2002 ;Johnson, Bonn-Miller, Leyro, & Zvolensky, 2009 ), and opiates ( Zijlstra, Veltman, Booij, van den Brink, & Franken, 2009 ). Regardless of whether low hedonic capacity may confer risk to other drugs of abuse, the current study suggests that this trait may be an important variable to identify youth at risk for smoking.…”

Momentary Positive and Negative Affect Preceding Marijuana Use Events in Youth

“…Much of the research on negative affect associated with use has focused on anxiety, with evidence for the effect of anxiety on marijuana use being mediated by tension-reduction expectancies (de Dios et al, 2010) and coping motives for use (Johnson et al, 2009). EMA research with young, frequent marijuana users has suggested that the association between anxiety and subsequent marijuana use may be mediated by the effects of anxiety on craving (Buckner et al, 2012).…”

Seventy-Five Years of Comorbidity Research

“…(Predictions from CB-TRT studies are also supported for marijuana use; Johnson et al, 2009). Findings showing that those with alcohol problems are more likely than others to expect tension reduction from alcohol and to drink to obtain these effects add face validity to the CB-TRT as a psychosocial model for the etiology of alcohol dependence (Beckman, 1980;Carpenter and Hasin, 1999;Russell and Bond, 1980).…”