As the prevalence of cannabis consumption continues to increase across the United States, with college-aged adults being no exception, the research behind its motivating factors continues to steadily develop. Individuals claim to use cannabis for an array of reasons, including recreational pleasure, relief from different medical conditions, etc. A primary, yet scientifically unsupported reason people may choose to use cannabis is for aiding in sleep. In fact, a questionnaire named the Sleep-Related Cannabis Expectancy Questionnaire (SR-CEQ) has been organized and is utilized to determine people’s expectancies towards the effects that cannabis may or may not have on the quality of their sleep. The two main domains of the test are “same night sleep” measuring how well people expect to sleep after consuming cannabis, and “next day functioning” measuring how people expect to feel throughout the next day after consuming cannabis the prior night. The questionnaire can be helpful in determining individuals’ proclivities towards cannabis use, but it itself needs additional evaluation as a psychometric test. This study aims to quantitatively assess the validity and strength of the SR- CEQ, using a college-aged population sample.

The sample was composed of 174 college students from a university in New York State who received class credit for their responses (N=174, 66% female, Age range: 18-24). The participants responded to a survey consisting of a copy of the SR-CEQ and questions related to demographic information.
Using this data, the questionnaire was then analyzed using a two- factor model in addition to a variety of sampling adequacy tests, relating both positive and negative expectancies of cannabis use within the questionnaire.

Results of the study found the SR-CEQ to be a valid test in this preliminary evaluation. Findings within the college-aged population suggest that overall, college-aged adults hold higher rates of positive cannabis expectancies of sleep compared to the rest of the population when using the SR-CEQ as a scale. It has also been suggested that men tend to hold more negative expectancies than women within this regard. The authors stated that the SR-CEQ will continued to be evaluated for validity but can nevertheless serve as a ‘utility” in understanding cannabis use among populations.

Takeaway: as rates of cannabis consumption continue to climb in college students, the motivations behind its use may often be found in its ability to modulate sleep. The SR-CEQ continues to be developed as a test to measure individuals’ beliefs concerning cannabis consumption and sleep, and thus may serve to be helpful in delineating its prevalence around
campuses.

Patricia A. Goodhines, Lisa R. LaRowe, Les A. Gellis, Joseph W. Ditre & Aesoon Park (2020): Sleep-Related Cannabis Expectancy Questionnaire (SRCEQ): Initial Development among College Students, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2020.1800151