Getting High or Getting By? An Examination of Motives, Misuse, and Concurrent Psychopathology in a Sample of General Community Adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly Scarfe ◽  
Candice Muir ◽  
Karen Rowa ◽  
Iris Balodis ◽  
James MacKillop

Objective: Research conducted with young adults has consistently identified cannabis use motives as a predictor for cannabis use and problems, but comparatively few studies have examined cannabis motives in adult samples. Furthermore, although substantive evidence has identified links between cannabis use and psychiatric conditions, limited research has examined the intersection of cannabis use, motives, and psychopathology. The present study sought to characterize cannabis use motives in an adult sample and investigate whether those motives would link relationships between cannabis misuse and psychiatric symptoms. Method: Participants (N=395; M age=34.8; %F=47.6; % White = 81.3%) completed assessments related to cannabis misuse, cannabis use motives, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and somatic experiences. Bivariate correlations, hierarchical regressions, and subsequently, mediation analyses were performed to examine associations between motives and cannabis misuse, and to investigate whether particular motives would link the relationship between cannabis misuse and psychiatric symptoms. Results: Analyses revealed statistically significant, unique associations between cannabis misuse and Social (β = .13), Enhancement (β = .12) and, particularly, Coping motives (β = .48). Further, Coping fully linked the relationship between level of cannabis misuse and depressive, anxiety, PTSD, and somatic symptoms. Conclusion: These results lend support for a negative reinforcement motivational profile as the predominant pattern in adult cannabis users, especially with regard to concurrent symptoms of cannabis use disorder and psychopathology. These results suggest that targeting maladaptive coping with cannabis may prove an effective treatment target in addressing co-occurring cannabis misuse and psychopathology.

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 667-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Hollingsworth ◽  
Jami M. Gauthier ◽  
Adam P. McGuire ◽  
Kelly R. Peck ◽  
Kathryn S. Hahn ◽  
...  

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a major health concern among veterans, specifically African American veterans, and is commonly comorbid with other negative mental health outcomes including substance use disorders (SUD) and symptoms of depression. The current study examined intolerance of uncertainty as a mediator of the relationship between PTSD and depression symptoms in a sample of African American veterans with a dual diagnosis of PTSD and SUD. Participants included 113 African American veterans who were in treatment for PTSD and SUD at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Five mediation analyses were conducted to examine the mediational effect of intolerance of uncertainty on the relationship between PTSD symptom clusters (i.e., total, hyperarousal, numbness, avoidance, and intrusion) and depression symptoms. Findings indicated that intolerance of uncertainty mediated the relationship between four of the five mediation models (i.e., total symptoms, hyperarousal, numbness, and intrusion). These results imply that for African American veterans, higher levels of certain PTSD symptoms were associated with higher levels of intolerance of uncertainty, which in turn were related to increased levels of depression symptoms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reilly R. Kayser ◽  
Margaret Haney ◽  
Helen Blair Simpson

Cannabis is increasingly used by individuals with mental health diagnoses and often purported to treat anxiety and various other psychiatric symptoms. Yet support for using cannabis as a psychiatric treatment is currently limited by a lack of evidence from rigorous placebo-controlled studies. While regulatory hurdles and other barriers make clinical trials of cannabis challenging to conduct, addiction researchers have decades of experience studying cannabis use in human laboratory models. These include methods to control cannabis administration, to delineate clinical and mechanistic aspects of cannabis use, and to evaluate potential treatment applications for cannabis and its constituents. In this paper, we review these human laboratory procedures and describe how each can be applied to study cannabis use in patients with psychiatric disorders. Because anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric illnesses affecting American adults, and anxiety relief is also the most commonly-reported reason for medicinal cannabis use, we focus particularly on applying human laboratory models to study cannabis effects in individuals with anxiety and related disorders. Finally, we discuss how these methods can be integrated to study cannabis effects in other psychiatric conditions and guide future research in this area.


Author(s):  
Kyra Farrelly ◽  
Pablo Romero-Sanchiz ◽  
Ioan Mahu ◽  
Sean Barrett ◽  
Pamela Collins ◽  
...  

Cannabis use is common in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The PTSD-cannabis relationship is important as cannabis use can worsen PTSD outcomes. Cannabis use motives are a useful construct for understanding the PTSD-cannabis relationship. Frequent pairing of a trauma cue with substance use to cope can lead to conditioned substance craving. The extant research has not yet examined potential mechanisms to explain this effect. We recruited 51 cannabis users with a trauma history for a cannabis cue-reactivity study to examine coping motives as a potential mediator of the hypothesized relationship between PTSD symptoms and cannabis craving to trauma cues. Participants first completed a validated cannabis use motives measure. They were then exposed to a personalized audio and visual cue based on their trauma experience and reported on their cannabis craving immediately following using a standardized measure. Coping motives were contrasted with enhancement motives as the mediator. Results supported our first hypothesis: PTSD symptoms were associated with increased cannabis craving following personal trauma cue exposure. However, our second hypothesis of an indirect effect through coping motives was not supported. We did find an independent main effect of coping motives on cannabis craving triggered by trauma cue exposure. The lack of an interaction between PTSD symptoms and coping motives on trauma-cue induced craving is potentially due to other factors we did not examine that help strengthen the relationship (e.g., sleep). These findings have important clinical implications for targeting both PTSD symptoms and coping motives to prevent the development of conditioned cannabis craving to trauma reminders.


Author(s):  
Daisy Vyas Shirk ◽  
Sarah D. Williams

Background: Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS) comprise a group of heterogeneous hereditary connective tissue disorders [1, 2]. Psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, panic disorder, agoraphobia, schizophrenia, neurodevelopmental disorders, personality disorder, eating disorders, substance misuse and interpersonal issues have been reported in the literature to be associated with EDS [1-3]. Objectives: The case of a 15-year -old male who was hospitalized after a suicide attempt by gunshot was discovered to have symptoms suggestive of EDS is presented in this paper along with the results of a literature search of psychiatric manifestations of EDS in children and adolescents. Methods: Literature review was conducted on the UpToDate website on March 11, 2020 to review symptoms of EhlersDanlos Syndrome for the purpose of preliminary diagnosis of this patient. Additional literature search was conducted on PubMed on 4/2/20 at 12:10 P.M. and on 4/9/20 at 10:51 P.M. and on the search engine Google on 4/2/20 at 12:25 P.M. On May 11, 2020 at 2 P.M., another web search was conducted with review of 6 different websites pertaining to EhlersDanlos Syndrome. Results: A systematic review of psychiatric manifestations of Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes revealed a strong incidence of psychiatric symptoms. Conclusion: Our patient’s psychiatric symptoms of depression, suicidal ideations, anxiety and social and educational struggles may have been at least partially due to chronic pain- abdominal, headache and musculoskeletal, and social ostracization associated with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Education regarding this illness helped our patient’s recovery as he came to understand why he was so “odd” and the cause of his multisystemic chronic pain.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S398-S398
Author(s):  
A. Wnorowska ◽  
A. Jakubczyk ◽  
A. Klimkiewicz ◽  
A. Mach ◽  
K. Brower ◽  
...  

IntroductionInsomnia and tobacco use are frequent and important problems in alcohol-dependent patients. However, the relationship between sleep problems and cigarette smoking was not thoroughly investigated in this population.AimThe purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between tobacco smoking and severity of insomnia in alcohol-dependent patients in treatment. We also aimed at assessing other predictors of insomnia in this population.MethodsThe study group comprised 384 alcohol-dependent patients. Standardized tools were used to assess: tobacco dependence (Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence [FTND]), sleep problems (Athens Insomnia Scale [AIS]), severity of alcohol dependence (Michigan Alcohol Screening Test [MAST]) and drinking quantities before entering treatment (Timeline Follow Back [TFLB]). Other comorbid psychiatric symptoms were assessed using Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and Barratt's Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11).ResultsThe study group included 79.1% of current smokers, 62% of participants reported insomnia (AIS). The mean FTND score was 6.05 ± 2.18. The multivariate regression analysis revealed that the severity of tobacco dependence was significantly associated with the severity of insomnia (FTND, beta = 0.140, P = 0.013). Other factors associated with insomnia that remained significant in multivariate model were severity of psychopathological symptoms (BSI, beta = 0.422, P < 0.0005) and intensity of drinking (TLFB, beta = 0.123, P = 0.034).ConclusionTobacco use may predict severity of insomnia in alcohol-dependent patients. This finding may have important clinical implications and influence strategies applied in treatment of alcohol use disorders.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


Author(s):  
Rosa Ritunnano ◽  
Lisa Bortolotti

AbstractDelusions are often portrayed as paradigmatic instances of incomprehensibility and meaninglessness. Here we investigate the relationship between delusions and meaning from a philosophical perspective, integrating arguments and evidence from cognitive psychology and phenomenological psychopathology. We review some of the empirical and philosophical literature relevant to two claims about delusions and meaning: (1) delusions are meaningful, despite being described as irrational and implausible beliefs; (2) some delusions can also enhance the sense that one’s life is meaningful, supporting agency and creativity in some circumstances. Delusions are not incomprehensible representations of reality. Rather, they can help make sense of one’s unusual experiences and in some circumstances even support one’s endeavours, albeit temporarily and imperfectly. Acknowledging that delusions have meaning and can also give meaning to people’s lives has implications for our understanding of psychotic symptoms and for addressing the stigma associated with psychiatric conditions.


2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052098390
Author(s):  
Jiahui Qu ◽  
Li Lei ◽  
Xingchao Wang ◽  
Xiaochun Xie ◽  
Pengcheng Wang

Previous studies have found some risk factors of cyberbullying. However, little is known about how mother phubbing may influence adolescent cyberbullying, and the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship. “Phubbing,” which is a portmanteau of “phone” and “subbing,” refers to snubbing other people and focus on smartphones in social interactions. This study examined whether mother phubbing, which refers to being phubbed by one’s mother, would be positively related to adolescent cyberbullying, whether perceived mother acceptance would mediate the relationship between mother phubbing and adolescent cyberbullying, and whether emotional stability would moderate the pathways between mother phubbing and adolescent cyberbullying. The sample consisted of 4,213 Chinese senior high school students (mean age 16.41 years, SD = 0.77, 53% were female). Participants completed measurements regarding mother phubbing, cyberbullying, perceived mother acceptance, and emotional stability. The results indicated that mother phubbing was positively related to cyberbullying, which was mediated by perceived mother acceptance. Further, moderated mediation analyses showed that emotional stability moderated the direct path between mother phubbing and cyberbullying and the indirect path between mother phubbing and perceived mother acceptance. This study highlighted the harmful impact of mother phubbing on adolescents by showing a positive association between mother phubbing and adolescent cyberbullying, as well as the underlying mechanisms between mother phubbing and adolescent cyberbullying.


Author(s):  
Elisabeth Kliem ◽  
Elise Gjestad ◽  
Truls Ryum ◽  
Alexander Olsen ◽  
Bente Thommessen ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: Findings on the relationship of psychiatric symptoms with performance-based and self-reported cognitive function post-stroke are inconclusive. We aimed to (1) study the relation of depression and anxiety to performance-based cognitive function and (2) explore a broader spectrum of psychiatric symptoms and their association with performance-based versus self-reported cognitive function. Method: Individuals with supratentorial ischemic stroke performed neuropsychological examination 3 months after stroke. For primary analyses, composite scores for memory and attention/executive function were calculated based on selected neuropsychological tests, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used. Psychiatric symptoms and self-reported cognitive function for secondary aims were assessed using the Symptom-Checklist-90 – Revised (SCL-90-R). Results: In a sample of 86 patients [mean (M) age: 64.6 ± 9.2; Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), 3–7 days post-stroke: M = 28.4 ± 1.7; National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) after 3 months: M = 0.7 ± 1.6] depressive symptoms (HADS) were associated with poorer memory performance after controlling for age, sex, and education (p ≤ .01). In a subsample (n = 41; Age: M = 65.7 ± 8.1; MMSE: M = 28.4 ± 1.8; NIHSS: M = 1.0 ± 1.9), symptoms of phobic anxiety (SCL-90-R) were associated with poorer performance-based memory and attention/executive function, and symptoms of anxiety (SCL-90-R) with lower attention/executive function. Higher levels of self-reported cognitive difficulties were associated with higher scores in all psychiatric domains (p ≤ .05). Conclusion: Even in relatively well-functioning stroke patients, depressive symptoms are associated with poorer memory. The results also suggest that various psychiatric symptoms are more related to self-reported rather than to performance-based cognitive function. Screening for self-reported cognitive difficulties may not only help to identify patients with cognitive impairment, but also those who need psychological treatment.


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