Pain-Related Anxiety and Marijuana Use Motives: A Pilot Test Among Active Marijuana-Using Young Adults

Abstract

The present investigation examined pain-related anxiety in regard to marijuana use motives among a sample of young adult marijuana users (N = 180; 45% women; M _age = 21.11 years, SD = 6.41). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to determine the relations between pain-related anxiety and marijuana use motives. After controlling for current marijuana use frequency (past 30 days), daily cigarette smoking rate, current rate of alcohol consumption, level of bodily pain (current), and other marijuana use motives, pain-related anxiety was significantly and uniquely associated with coping and conformity motives for marijuana use. Pain-related anxiety was not significantly related to other marijuana use motives. These results offer novel empirical insight pertaining to a relation between pain-related anxiety and coping as well as conformity motives for marijuana use among active users.

Keywords:

• marijuana
• anxiety
• pain-related anxiety
• motives

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Diversity Supplement Grant 1 R01 MH076629-01 awarded to Adam Gonzalez and NIMH Research Grant 1 R01 MH076629-01 awarded to Michael J. Zvolensky. This work was also supported by a Department of Veterans Affairs Clinical Science Research and Development Career Development Award–II to Marcel O. Bonn-Miller. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The NIMH had no role in the study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data, writing the manuscript, or the decision to submit the paper for publication.

Notes

^1. Post hoc analyses including gender as a covariate did not change the significance or the magnitude of the effect in any of the regressions. No a priori hypotheses were made identifying gender as a covariate in the analysis; therefore, it was not included in the regression analyses that are discussed in this report.

^2. As hypothesized, and consistent with the lack of observed zero-order correlations, hierarchical regression analyses conducted for social, enhancement, and expansion marijuana motives did not yield significant relations with the PASS total score and thus were not included in the present article. These supplementary analyses can be obtained upon request from Michael J. Zvolensky.