Depressive symptoms, ruminative thinking, marijuana use motives, and marijuana outcomes: A multiple mediation model among college students in five countries

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have evidenced that rumination and drinking motives may mediate the association between depressive symptoms and alcohol outcomes. The present study cross-culturally examined whether a similar mediation model may extend to marijuana. Specifically, we tested distinct rumination facets (problem-focused thoughts, counterfactual thinking, repetitive thoughts, and anticipatory thoughts) and marijuana use motives (social, coping, expansion, conformity, enhancement) as double-mediators of the paths from depressive symptoms to marijuana outcomes (use and consequences). Method:A comprehensive mediation path model was tested in a cross-sectional sample of college student marijuana users (n = 1,175) from five countries (U.S., Argentina, Uruguay, Spain, Netherlands). Multi-group models were tested to determine if the proposed mediational model was invariant across sex and different cultures/countries. Results: Depressive symptoms and marijuana outcomes were indirectly associated through ruminative thinking and marijuana motives. Specifically, higher depressive symptoms were associated with higher problem-focused thoughts; which in turn were associated with: a) higher endorsement of coping motives which in turn was associated with higher marijuana use and related consequences and b) lower endorsement of enhancement motives which in turn was associated with lower marijuana use and related consequences. The multi-group analyses showed that the model was invariant across sex and the five countries. Conclusions: The present research supports the existence of a universal (i.e., cross-national invariant) negative affect regulation pathway to marijuana use/misuse similar to those previously found with alcohol. Additional research is needed to confirm the role of enhancement motives in the associations of depression, rumination and marijuana outcomes.

Negative emotion and problematic mobile phone use: The mediating role of rumination and the moderating role of social support

“…Thus, maladaptive cognitions might play the mediating effect on the association between negative emotion and PIU. Some previous evidence has supported the mediating role of rumination between negative emotion and addictive behaviours (Bravo et al., 2017, 2019; Elhai, Tiamiyu, et al., 2018). However, rumination can be classified into different subtypes, and it is not clear whether these subtypes both play a mediating role in the relationship between negative emotion and PMPU.…”

The importance of psychology for shaping legal cannabis regulation.

“…Specifically, compared to individuals with other motives for using cannabis, those who reported using cannabis to cope with negative emotions at baseline were significantly more likely to develop dependence (van der Pol et al, 2013). This finding warrants further emphasis as numerous studies have reported the same results: Using cannabis to cope with negative affect is consistently associated with more frequent cannabis use, problems stemming from cannabis use (e.g., social, employment, or legal problems), and overall worse mental health compared with those who report other motives for using cannabis (Benschop et al, 2015;Bravo et al, 2019;Bresin & Mekawi, 2019;Brodbeck, Matter, Page, & Moggi, 2007;Colder, Lee, Frndak, Read, & Wieczorek, 2019;Glodosky & Cuttler, 2020;Moitra, Christopher, Anderson, & Stein, 2015;Patrick et al, 2016;Patrick, Schulenberg, O'Malley, Johnston, & Bachman, 2011;Peraza et al, 2019;Schultz, Bassett, Messina, & Correia, 2019). However, when considering these data, it is important to distinguish between a marker and a cause.…”

The Change in Psychoactive Substance Consumption in Relation to Psychological Stress During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Uruguay

“… 29 , 30 Alcohol and marijuana use are strongly driven by the need to reduce ongoing or anticipated negative effects related to psychological distress. 31 , 32 Thus, it is likely that the reported increase in the use of these substances indicates self-medicating behaviour, aimed at overcoming symptoms of anxiety and stress. Consistent with this hypothesis, it was found that Kessler scores in those reporting daily psychoactive substance use during the quarantine were significantly higher than those observed in participants that consumed psychoactive substances either weekly or during some days of the week or that did not use psychoactive substances during the period.…”