How Harmonious and Obsessive Passion for Alcohol and Marijuana Relate to Consumption and Negative Consequences

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective: Although the concepts of harmonious and obsessive passion have been productive in explaining why people eagerly engage in such activities as sports, Internet use, and gambling, previous research has not yet extended these models to explain alcohol and marijuana use among college students. The current research was conducted to clarify the relationships among harmonious and obsessive passion, alcohol and marijuana use, and negative consequences. Method: Two studies were conducted using online assessments. In Study 1, 748 heavy drinking college students (58% female) were recruited and completed measures of passion for drinking alcohol, alcohol use, and alcohol-related negative consequences. In Study 2, 352 regular marijuana-using students (54% female) were recruited and completed assessments of marijuana passion, marijuana use, and marijuana-related consequences. Results:Study 1 found that among heavy drinking college students, harmonious passion was a stronger predictor of increased consumption than was obsessive passion, whereas obsessive passion was a stronger predictor of alcohol-related problems than was harmonious passion. Study 2 revealed similar findings with regard to harmonious passion predicting marijuana consumption; however, unlike Study 1, no significant difference between the passions was found in predicting marijuana-related problems. Conclusions: This research provides a novel perspective on motivation for alcohol and marijuana use. Findings suggest that understanding the locus of young adults' passion for substance use may be helpful in identifying those who are likely to develop a substance use disorder and therefore may be the most in need of assistance and intervention. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 76, 749-757, 2015)

Ethical and legal issues in psychedelic harm reduction and integration therapy

“…This passion model offers an alternative to the abstinence-only or "all drugs are bad" approach that, instead of pathologizing the use of psychedelics, considers that their use may lead to positive emotions and psychological well-being. The passionate model has been applied to MDMA [ 54 ] and marijuana [ 55 , 56 ] suggesting that some patterns of regular use may indeed be experienced as positive and are not necessarily associated with negative outcomes. A focus on benefit maximization in harm reduction therapy appears even more acceptable in the case of classic psychedelics given their well-documented low potential for dependence or physical harm [ 57 ].…”

Contrasting the effects of harmonious and obsessive passion for religion on stress and drinking: Give me that old time religion … and a beer

“…Moreover, both passions were positively correlated to marijuana use. However, harmonious passion for marijuana was related to higher levels of marijuana use than obsessive passion, but there was no significant difference between obsessive and harmonious passion in terms of predicting marijuana problems (Steers et al, 2015). There is currently no other research on the effects of passion for religion in relation to substance use.…”

“…Two studies found both harmonious and obsessive passion to be positively associated with gambling, but harmonious passion was associated with more positive psychological outcomes (e.g., enjoyment, challenge, control) whereas obsessive passion was associated with negative outcomes (e.g., gambling larger sums, feelings of guilt, and perceptions of being judged by others; Mageau et al, 2005;Rousseau et al, 2002). Specifically in relation to substance use, higher levels of harmonious passion for alcohol predicted higher levels of alcohol consumption (Steers et al, 2015), but lower levels of alcohol problems. Conversely, greater obsessive passion was associated with higher levels of drinking and alcohol problems.…”

“…online shopping (Wang & Yang, 2008), exercise (Stenseng et al, 2015), gambling (Rousseau, et al, 2002), and marijuana and alcohol use (Steers et al, 2015). Passion has not yet been considered with respect to religion, despite its conceptual relevance to previously considered typologies related to religious orientations and motivations.…”

“…Passion has not yet been considered with respect to religion, despite its conceptual relevance to previously considered typologies related to religious orientations and motivations. Given research relating passion to mental health (Mageau et al, 2005) and drinking outcomes (Steers et al, 2015), and the consistent protective effect of religion on drinking behaviors, (e.g., Burke et al, 2014, Koenig et al, 2012, Meyers, Brown, Grant, & Hasin, 2017 the examination of the associations between these three constructs represents a logical next step.…”