Motivations for Cannabis Use in Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a debilitating psychiatric condition. Consequently, it is common for those affected to resort to cannabis to cope with their symptoms. The primary objective of this study was to understand the differences between motivations for cannabis use in adults with and withou...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-12-01
|
| Series: | Brain Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/12/1698 |
| _version_ | 1827575414758834176 |
|---|---|
| author | Sonja Elsaid Ruoyu Wang Stefan Kloiber Bernard Le Foll Ahmed N. Hassan |
| author_facet | Sonja Elsaid Ruoyu Wang Stefan Kloiber Bernard Le Foll Ahmed N. Hassan |
| author_sort | Sonja Elsaid |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a debilitating psychiatric condition. Consequently, it is common for those affected to resort to cannabis to cope with their symptoms. The primary objective of this study was to understand the differences between motivations for cannabis use in adults with and without SAD. We employed convergent, mixed methods to collect the data. Twenty-six individuals (age: 27.9 ± 7.3 years; 54% female) with and twenty-six (age: 27.4 ± 6.7 years; 50% female) without SAD were administered Marijuana Motives Measure (MMM). Motivations to initiate, continue, and maintain cannabis use were assessed in 12/26 participants in both groups using in-depth interviews. Cannabis weekly consumption was 3.8-fold and frequency 1.3-fold higher in the SAD group. Coping (F = 10.02; <i>p</i> <0.001; η<sup>2</sup> = 0.46) and social (F = 2.81; <i>p</i> = 0.036; η<sup>2</sup> = 0.19) motivations were also higher in the SAD group, after controlling for age, sex, and current CUD. The need to cope with symptoms of SAD may have been the driving force for repeated cannabis consumption. Psychoeducational programs educating children about the risk of using cannabis to cope with SAD should be implemented in vocational settings early on. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:56:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-71422f54516649d1a7a17a99f21389bb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:56:48Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-71422f54516649d1a7a17a99f21389bb2023-12-22T13:57:22ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252023-12-011312169810.3390/brainsci13121698Motivations for Cannabis Use in Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)Sonja Elsaid0Ruoyu Wang1Stefan Kloiber2Bernard Le Foll3Ahmed N. Hassan4Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, CanadaTranslational Addiction Research Laboratory, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, CanadaInstitute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, CanadaTranslational Addiction Research Laboratory, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, CanadaTranslational Addiction Research Laboratory, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, CanadaSocial anxiety disorder (SAD) is a debilitating psychiatric condition. Consequently, it is common for those affected to resort to cannabis to cope with their symptoms. The primary objective of this study was to understand the differences between motivations for cannabis use in adults with and without SAD. We employed convergent, mixed methods to collect the data. Twenty-six individuals (age: 27.9 ± 7.3 years; 54% female) with and twenty-six (age: 27.4 ± 6.7 years; 50% female) without SAD were administered Marijuana Motives Measure (MMM). Motivations to initiate, continue, and maintain cannabis use were assessed in 12/26 participants in both groups using in-depth interviews. Cannabis weekly consumption was 3.8-fold and frequency 1.3-fold higher in the SAD group. Coping (F = 10.02; <i>p</i> <0.001; η<sup>2</sup> = 0.46) and social (F = 2.81; <i>p</i> = 0.036; η<sup>2</sup> = 0.19) motivations were also higher in the SAD group, after controlling for age, sex, and current CUD. The need to cope with symptoms of SAD may have been the driving force for repeated cannabis consumption. Psychoeducational programs educating children about the risk of using cannabis to cope with SAD should be implemented in vocational settings early on.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/12/1698social anxiety disorder (SAD)social phobia (SP)cannabis usecannabis use disorder (CUD)addictionsmotivations |
| spellingShingle | Sonja Elsaid Ruoyu Wang Stefan Kloiber Bernard Le Foll Ahmed N. Hassan Motivations for Cannabis Use in Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) Brain Sciences social anxiety disorder (SAD) social phobia (SP) cannabis use cannabis use disorder (CUD) addictions motivations |
| title | Motivations for Cannabis Use in Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) |
| title_full | Motivations for Cannabis Use in Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) |
| title_fullStr | Motivations for Cannabis Use in Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Motivations for Cannabis Use in Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) |
| title_short | Motivations for Cannabis Use in Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) |
| title_sort | motivations for cannabis use in individuals with social anxiety disorder sad |
| topic | social anxiety disorder (SAD) social phobia (SP) cannabis use cannabis use disorder (CUD) addictions motivations |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/12/1698 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sonjaelsaid motivationsforcannabisuseinindividualswithsocialanxietydisordersad AT ruoyuwang motivationsforcannabisuseinindividualswithsocialanxietydisordersad AT stefankloiber motivationsforcannabisuseinindividualswithsocialanxietydisordersad AT bernardlefoll motivationsforcannabisuseinindividualswithsocialanxietydisordersad AT ahmednhassan motivationsforcannabisuseinindividualswithsocialanxietydisordersad |