Cannabis Withdrawal, Posttreatment Abstinence, and Days to First Cannabis Use Among Emerging Adults in Substance Use Treatment

Objectives: Adolescents with substance use disorders (SUDs) exhibit high rates of comorbid psychological problems. This study aimed to examine the impact of an outpatient substance use treatment programme upon the psychological wellbeing of adolescents. Methods: A prospective study was carried out examining psychological symptoms in a group of adolescents attending the Youth Drug and Alcohol (YoDA) Addiction Service in Dublin. Participants were treated with evidenced based psychological models such as cognitive behavioural therapy, motivational interviewing and systemic family therapy. The Becks Youth Inventory was utilised to assess psychological symptoms at treatment entry and repeated three months later at follow up. Results: Among 36 adolescents who were included in this study, poly-substance misuse was the norm. Almost three-quarter had a cannabis use disorder (CUD). There were significant reductions in mean subscale scores of depression (56.0 to 50.8, p = 0.003), anger (55.2 to 49.5, p < 0.001) and disruptive behaviour (61.6 to 56.5, p = 0.002) at follow up. Although there wasn’t a statistically significant reduction in mean scores for anxiety, we observed a significant proportion of participants (p = 0.008) improving and moving out of a moderate to severe symptom range when examined by category. This was also the case for self-concept (p = 0.04). Furthermore this study revealed a positive correlation between the reduction in days of cannabis use and reduction in depressive scores (Pearson correlation 0.49, p = 0.01) among those with a CUD. Conclusion: The findings indicate that substance use treatment for adolescents is associated with important psychological and behavioural improvements.

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COVID-19’s impact on cannabis use: Can we trust retrospective cross-sectional data?

10.26828/cannabis.2021.01.000.18 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sara Bartel ◽

Simon Sherry ◽

Sherry Stewart

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Emerging Adults ◽

Cannabis Use ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Change Scores ◽

Subjective Change ◽

Retrospective Reports ◽

Self Reports ◽

Design And Methods ◽

The Impact

Background: Emergent research suggests there has been an increase in cannabis use levels during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, several gaps remain. It is unclear what impact the pandemic has had on the frequency vs. quantity of cannabis use. Additionally, research has not focused on emerging adults, a population often more likely to use cannabis. Moreover, as existing studies are cross-sectional and retrospective, it is not clear whether participant reports of increasing cannabis use during COVID-19 are accurate. We sought to fill these gaps to provide further information about the impact of COVID-19 on cannabis use and the accuracy of related retrospective self-reports. Design and Methods: Seventy emerging adults in an ongoing longitudinal study on alcohol and cannabis users completed surveys on COVID-19 and substance use between March 23rd-June 5th. Their substance use four months earlier was extracted from the existing dataset. Results: 54% of participants reported an increase in cannabis use frequency during the pandemic, while 39% reported an increase in cannabis quantity. An examination of objective change scores indicated 50% of participants actually increased their cannabis use frequency during the pandemic, while 32% actually increased their cannabis quantity. A comparison of retrospective subjective change with longitudinal objective change scores indicated participants were relatively accurate in their retrospective reports of change in cannabis use frequency but were relatively inaccurate in their retrospective reports of change in cannabis use quantity. Discussion: The COVID-19 pandemic appears to increase cannabis use frequency in the slight majority of cannabis using emerging adults. Our results suggest that retrospective cross-sectional reports may be a reasonable proxy for COVID-19 related cannabis use change in the case of cannabis use frequency. But our results question their use for determining how the pandemic is impacting cannabis use quantity. Importantly, our results suggest the COVID-19 pandemic poses health threats that extend beyond the virus itself. It is essential that public health efforts address the increasing frequency of cannabis use in emerging adult users.

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A systematic review of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and substance use in adolescents and emerging adults

Translational Behavioral Medicine ◽

10.1093/tbm/ibaa008 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 1155-1167 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ashley B West ◽

Kelsey M Bittel ◽

Michael A Russell ◽

M Blair Evans ◽

Scherezade K Mama ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Substance Use ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Sedentary Behavior ◽

Emerging Adults ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Cannabis Use ◽

Self Report ◽

Multiple Behavior Change

Abstract The transition from adolescence into emerging adulthood is marked by changes in both physical activity and substance use. This systematic review characterized associations between movement behaviors (physical activity, sedentary behavior) and frequently used substances (alcohol, cannabis) among adolescents and emerging adults to inform lifestyle interventions that target multiple behavior change outcomes. This systematic review was guided by PRISMA. Electronic databases of PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science were searched from inception through June 25, 2019. The search was designed to identify empirical studies reporting an association between physical activity or sedentary behavior and alcohol or cannabis, with search criteria determining eligibility based on several sampling characteristics (e.g., participants under 25 years of age). After identifying and screening 5,610 studies, data were extracted from 97 studies. Physical activity was positively associated with alcohol use among emerging adults, but the literature was mixed among adolescents. Sedentary behavior was positively associated with alcohol and cannabis use among adolescents, but evidence was limited among emerging adults. Self-report measures were used in all but one study to assess these behaviors. Physical activity is linked to greater alcohol use among emerging adults. Whereas existing studies demonstrate that sedentary behavior might serve as a risk marker for alcohol and cannabis use among adolescents, additional primary research is needed to explore these associations in emerging adults. Future work should also use device-based measures to account for timing of and contextual features surrounding activity and substance use in these populations.

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ICan, an Internet-based intervention to reduce cannabis use: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Trials ◽

10.1186/s13063-020-04962-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Marleen I. A. Olthof ◽

Matthijs Blankers ◽

Margriet W. van Laar ◽

Anna E. Goudriaan

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Substance Use ◽

Brief Intervention ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Cannabis Use ◽

Substance Use Treatment ◽

Professional Help ◽

Web Based ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Internet Based Intervention

Abstract Background Heavy cannabis use is associated with adverse physical and mental health effects. Despite available effective treatments, the majority of heavy cannabis users does not seek professional help. Web-based interventions can provide an alternative for cannabis users who are reluctant to seek professional help. Several web-based cannabis interventions are effective in reducing cannabis use; however, the effect sizes are typically small and attrition rates are typically high. This suggests that web-based programs can be an effective cannabis use intervention for some, while others may need additional substance use treatment after completing a web-based intervention. Therefore, it is important that web-based interventions do not solely focus on reducing cannabis use, but also on improving attitudes towards substance use treatment. The Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) approach appears to be well suited for the purpose of reducing cannabis use and improving substance use treatment utilization. Based on the SBIRT approach—and based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and motivational interviewing (MI)—we developed the Internet-based cannabis reduction intervention ICan. Methods/design This protocol paper presents the design of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in which we evaluate the effectiveness of the ICan intervention compared to four online modules of educational information on cannabis in a sample of Dutch frequent cannabis users. The primary outcome measure is frequency of cannabis use. Secondary outcome measures include the quantity of cannabis used (grams), the attitudes towards seeking help and the number of participants who enter specialized treatment services for cannabis use-related problems. Discussion To the best of our knowledge, ICan is the first Internet-based intervention for cannabis users that combines screening, a brief intervention—based on CBT and MI—and referral to treatment options. Trial registration The study is registered in the Netherlands Trial Register; identifier NL7668. Registered on 17 April 2019.

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