Research Article
Posttraumatic stress symptom severity predicts marijuana use coping motives among traumatic event-exposed marijuana users
Marcel O. Bonn-Miller,
Anka A. Vujanovic,
Matthew T. Feldner,
Amit Bernstein,
Michael J. Zvolensky,
Marcel O. Bonn-Miller
Department of Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Search for more papers by this authorAnka A. Vujanovic
Department of Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Search for more papers by this authorMatthew T. Feldner
Department of Psychology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AK
Search for more papers by this authorAmit Bernstein
Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Palo Alto, CA
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Michael J. Zvolensky
Department of Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Department of Psychology, The University of Vermont, 2 Colchester Avenue, John Dewey Hall, Burlington, VT 05405-0134Search for more papers by this authorMarcel O. Bonn-Miller,
Anka A. Vujanovic,
Matthew T. Feldner,
Amit Bernstein,
Michael J. Zvolensky,
Marcel O. Bonn-Miller
Department of Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Search for more papers by this authorAnka A. Vujanovic
Department of Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Search for more papers by this authorMatthew T. Feldner
Department of Psychology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AK
Search for more papers by this authorAmit Bernstein
Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Palo Alto, CA
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Michael J. Zvolensky
Department of Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Department of Psychology, The University of Vermont, 2 Colchester Avenue, John Dewey Hall, Burlington, VT 05405-0134Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
The present study examines the relation between posttraumatic stress symptom severity and motives for marijuana use among 103 (55 women) young adult marijuana users (current) who reported experiencing at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. As expected, after covarying for the theoretically relevant variables of frequency of past 30-day marijuana use, number of cigarettes smoked per day, and volume of alcohol consumed, posttraumatic stress symptom severity was significantly related to marijuana use coping motives, but no other motives for marijuana use. Results are discussed in relation to better understanding the role of coping-motivated marijuana use among young adults experiencing posttraumatic stress.
REFERENCES
- American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders ( 4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
- American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders ( 4th ed., text revision). Washington, DC: Author.
- Bonn-Miller, M. O., & Zvolensky, M. J. (2005). The Marijuana Smoking History Questionnaire. Unpublished manuscript, The Anxiety and Health Research Laboratory, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT.
- Bonn-Miller, M. O., Zvolensky, M. J., & Bernstein, A. (2007). Marijuana use motives: Concurrent relations to frequency of past 30-day use and anxiety sensitivity among young adult marijuana smokers. Addictive Behaviors, 32, 49–62.
- Bonn-Miller, M. O., Zvolensky, M. J., Leen-Feldner, E. W., Feldner, M. T., & Yartz, A. R. (2005). Marijuana use among daily tobacco smokers: Relationship to anxiety-related factors. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 27, 279–289.
- Bremner, J. D., Southwick, S. M., Darnell, A., & Charney, D. S. (1996). Chronic PTSD in Vietnam combat veterans: Course of illness and substance abuse. American Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 369–375.
- Brown, R. A., Lejuez, C. W., Kahler, C. W., & Strong, D. R. (2002). Distress tolerance and duration of past smoking cessation attempts. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 180–185.
- Chait, L. D., & Zacny, J. P. (1992). Reinforcing and subjective effects of oral delta 9-THC and smoked marijuana in humans. Psychopharmacology, 107, 255–262.
-
Chilcoat, H. D., &
Menard, C.
(2003).
Epidemiological investigations: Comorbidity of posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder. In
P. Ouimette &
P. J. Brown (Eds.),
Trauma and substance abuse: Causes, consequences, and treatment of comorbid disorders
(pp. 9–28)
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
10.1037/10460-001 Google Scholar
- Comeau, N., Stewart, S. H., & Loba, P. (2001). The relations of trait anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and sensation seeking to adolescents' motivations for alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. Addictive Behaviors, 26, 803–825.
-
Cooper, M. L.
(1994).
Motivations for alcohol use among adolescents: Development and validation of a four-factor model.
Psychological Assessment,
6, 117–128.
10.1037/1040-3590.6.2.117 Google Scholar
- Cox, W. M., & Klinger, E. (1988). A motivational model of alcohol use. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 97, 168–180.
- Feldner, M. T., Babson, K. A., & Zvolensky, M. J. (2007). Smoking, traumatic event exposure, and posttraumatic stress: A critical review of the empirical literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 14–45.
- First, M., Spitzer, R., Gibbon, M., & Williams, J. (1995). Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV–Non-patient edition. New York: Biometrics Research Department, New York State Psychiatric Institute.
- Foa, E. (1995). Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale. Minneapolis, MN: National Computer Systems.
- Foa, E., Cashman, L., Jaycox, L., & Perry, K. (1997). The validation of a self-report measure of posttraumatic stress disorder: The Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale. Psychological Assessment, 9, 445–451.
- Foa, E. B., & Riggs, D. (1995). Posttraumatic stress disorder following assault: Theoretical considerations and empirical findings. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2, 61–65.
- Follette, V. M. (1994). Survivors of child sexual abuse: Treatment using a contextual analysis. In S. C. Hayes, N. S. Jacobson, V. M. Follette, & M. J. Dougher (Eds.), Acceptance and change: Content and context in psychotherapy (pp. 255–258) Reno, NV: Context Press.
- Forsyth, J. P., & Zvolensky, M. J. (2002). Experimental psychopathology, clinical science, and practice: An irrelevant or indispensable alliance? Applied and Preventive Psychology: Current Scientific Perspectives, 10, 243–264.
- Jacobsen, L. K., Southwick, S. M., & Kosten, T. R. (2001). Substance use disorders in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 1184–1190.
- Khantzian, E. J. (1985). The self-medication hypothesis of addictive disorders: Focus on heroin and cocaine dependence. American Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 1259–1264.
- Kilpatrick, D. G., Acierno, R., Saunders, B. E., Resnick, H. S., Best, C. L., & Schnurr, P. P. (2000). Risk factors for adolescent substance abuse and dependence: Data from a national sample. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 19–30.
- Mathew, R. J., Wilson, W. H., & Tant, S. (1989). Responses to hypercapnia induced by acetazolamide in panic disorder patients. American Journal of Psychiatry, 146, 996–1000.
- Mitchell, H., Zvolensky, M. J., Marshall, E. C., Bonn-Miller, M. O., & Vujanovic, A. A. (in press). Incremental validity of coping-oriented marijuana use motives in the prediction of affect-based psychological vulnerability. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment.
- Plumb, J. C., Orsillo, S. M., & Luterek, J. A. (2004). A preliminary test of the role of experiential avoidance in post-event functioning. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 35, 245–257.
- Read, J. P., Wood, M. D., Kahler, C. W., Maddock, J. E., & Palfai, T. (2003). Examining the role of drinking motives in college student alcohol use and problems. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 17, 13–23.
- Reilly, D., Didcott, P., Swift, W., & Hall, W. (1998). Long-term cannabis use: Characteristics of users in an Australian rural area. Addiction, 93, 837–846.
- Richter, L., & Johnson, P. B. (2001). Current methods of assessing substance use: A review of strengths, problems, and developments. Journal of Drug Issues, 31, 809–832.
- Simons, J., Correia, C. J., Carey, K. B., & Borsari, B. E. (1998). Validating a five-factor marijuana motives measure: Relations with use, problems, and alcohol motives. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 45, 265–273.
- Simons, J. S., Gaher, R. M., Correia, C. J., Hansen, C. L., & Christopher, M. S. (2005). An affective-motivational model of marijuana and alcohol problems. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 19, 326–334.
- State of Vermont Department of Health. (2000). Retrieved September 3, 2002, from http://www.healthyvermonters.info/
- Stewart, S. H., & Conrod, P. J. (2003). Psychosocial models of functional associations. In P. C. Ouimette & P. J. Brown (Eds.), PTSD and substance use disorder comorbidity: Advances and challenges in research and practice Washington, DC: American Psychological Press.
- Stewart, S. H., Peterson, J. B., & Pihl, R. O. (1995). Anxiety sensitivity and self-reported alcohol consumption rates in university women. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 9, 283–292.
- Stewart, S. H., Zvolensky, M. J., & Eifert, G. H. (2001). Negative-reinforcement drinking motives mediate the relation between anxiety sensitivity and increased drinking behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 157–171.
- Tull, M. T., Gratz, K. L., Salters, K., & Roemer, L. (2004). The role of experiential avoidance in posttraumatic stress symptoms and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and somatization. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 192, 754–761.
- Vlahov, D., Galea, B., Resnick, B., Ahern, J., Boscarino, J. A., Bucuvalas, M., et al. (2002). Increased use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana among Manhattan, New York, residents after the September 11th terrorist attacks. American Journal of Epidemiology, 155, 986–996.
- Wechsler, H., Davenport, A., Dowdall, G., Moeykens, B., & Castillo, S. (1994) Health and behavioral consequences of binge drinking in college: A national survey of students at 140 campuses. Journal of the American Medical Association, 272, 1672–1677.
- Zvolensky, M. J., Bonn-Miller, M. O., Bernstein, A., McLeish., A. C., Feldner, M. T., & Leen-Feldner, E. W. (2006). Anxiety sensitivity interacts with marijuana use in the prediction of anxiety symptoms and panic-related catastrophic thinking among daily tobacco users. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44, 907–924.
- Zvolensky, M. J., Lejuez, C. W., Kahler, C. W., & Brown, R. A. (2004) Nonclinical panic attack history and smoking cessation: An initial examination. Addictive Behaviors, 29, 825–830.
- Zvolensky, M. J., Schmidt, N. B., Antony, M. M., McCabe, R. E., Forsyth, J. P., Feldner, M. T., et al. (2005). Evaluating the role of panic disorder in emotional sensitivity processes involved with smoking. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 19, 673–686.
