The Role of Savoring in Young Adult Cannabis Use and Associated Consequences: A Replication Study

ABSTRACT

Young adults exhibit high rates of cannabis use and are at heightened risk of experiencing negative cannabis-associated consequences. The purpose of the present study was to replicate and extend to prior work on savoring, the ability to experience positive experiences/emotions, and cannabis use frequency on cannabis-associated consequences. Young adults (18–25 years old, N = 122, 36.1% women) who reported weekly cannabis use completed self-report surveys. Savoring was significantly associated with cannabis use frequency (r = .28, p < .01) and cannabis-associated consequences (r = -.20, p < .05). Cannabis use frequency was significantly and negatively associated with cannabis-associated consequences (r = -.24, p < .01). However, the interaction between cannabis use frequency and savoring on cannabis-associated consequences was not significant (b = 0.0004, p = .91, 95% CI [−0.007, 0.008]). When the interaction was removed, neither cannabis use frequency (b = -0.14, p = .08, CI [−0.29, −0.02]) nor savoring (b = -0.05, p = .16, CI [−0.13, 0.02]) were associated with cannabis-associated consequences. Results did not replicate previous findings regarding the moderating role of savoring in the relationship between cannabis use frequency and cannabis-associated consequences. Future research may explore why findings did not replicate by using more fine-grained assessment methods and comprehensive measures of cannabis use.

KEYWORDS:

• Cannabis use
• cannabis-associated consequences
• savoring
• positive psychology
• young adults
• replication

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a grant awarded to the third and fourth authors (BLG and AM) from the University of Rhode Island Undergraduate Research and Innovation Committee and by institutional funds provided by the University of Rhode Island. Work on this manuscript by the second author (MS) was supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse Grant T32019426. Work on this project by the fifth author (TN) was supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse Grant F31DA053754 and by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Grant R25AA028464.