Cannabis use in the United States continues to increase due to a number of factors related to increased accessibility and altered societal attitudes towards the behavior. While the health effects of cannabis are being studied on a gradually more extensive level, the motivations and influences behind the practice are not often clearly delineated. Substance use behaviors are often studied by examining individuals’ explicit and implicit cognitive processes. While explicit processes relate more to outcome expectancies regarding substance use, implicit processes rely on association and influence of various psychological and environmental factors in reflexively determining various aspects of behavior. This study aims to investigate implicit processes as they relate to cannabis use, with a specific focus being drawn to peer and personality interactions.
The study’s sample is pulled from a larger longitudinal study which originated in 2007 and followed around a 10-year time period wherein participants transitioned from childhood to adulthood (initiation of 10-12 years old). The data for the present study focused on the window within the longitudinal study in which participants were considered emerging adults (ages 17-22). The following participant measures were retrieved and used for analysis: demographics, personality (via Sensitivity to Punishment-Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire), peer approval/disapproval of cannabis, results from a Cannabis single category implicit association test, cannabis expectancies (via Cannabis Expectancies Questionnaire), and cannabis use (via Daily Drug-Taking Questionnaire). The data was analyzed using multilevel modelling with cross-lagged association testing.
Results of the analysis found that greater scores for peer approval of cannabis use was associated with significantly higher rates of individual cannabis use. Expectancies were associated with cannabis use patterns, such that higher expectancies predicted increased use and vice versa. Lastly as behavioral inhibition scores increased, implicit associations decreased, providing a moderating effect on cannabis use among individuals with high peer approval measures.
Takeaway: implicit associations regarding cannabis use may have an impact on emerging adults’ cannabis consumption patterns.