Cannabis use disorder in youth is linked to difficulty recognizing sad and fearful facial expressions | Research

The takeaway

Among 152 youths, more severe cannabis use disorder was associated with poorer recognition of sad and fearful facial expressions, independent of conduct disorder.

Parents of adolescents, youth mental health professionals, researchers studying cannabis and social cognition

Cannabis use disorder linked to impaired recognition of sad and fearful faces in youth

What the researchers found

Cannabis use disorder severity was negatively associated with recognition accuracy for higher-intensity sad and fearful expressions, while conduct disorder was independently associated with reduced sad expression recognition. Alcohol use disorder severity was not significantly associated with expression recognition.

Why it matters

Difficulty recognizing fear and sadness in others is a known risk factor for aggression and antisocial behavior. If cannabis use worsens this deficit during adolescence, it could compound behavioral risks during a critical developmental period.

The numbers in context

152 youths; ages 12.5-18; 56 female; 60 with conduct disorder; cannabis use disorder independently associated with reduced recognition of sad and fearful expressions

How the study worked

Cross-sectional study of 152 youths aged 12.5-18 (60 diagnosed with conduct disorder) who completed a rapid-presentation morphed facial expression task to assess emotion recognition ability.

What this study cannot tell us

Cross-sectional design cannot determine whether cannabis caused the recognition deficits. Youths with conduct disorder may have pre-existing deficits. Self-report measures for substance use. No assessment of cannabis use timing or quantity.

How to read the evidence

Cross-sectional study with a moderate sample size but inability to establish causation

When this study was published

Published in 2021. Research on cannabis and adolescent social cognition is still emerging.

The bigger picture

These findings suggest cannabis use during adolescence may impair social cognition in ways that could increase the risk of interpersonal problems and antisocial behavior, adding to concerns about adolescent cannabis use.

Questions still open

Does reduced emotion recognition persist after cannabis cessation? Would these deficits be found in youth who use cannabis without developing use disorder? Could emotion recognition training help mitigate these effects?

Common questions

Does cannabis affect the ability to read emotions?

In this study of 152 adolescents, more severe cannabis use disorder was associated with poorer recognition of sad and fearful facial expressions. This was independent of conduct disorder, which also impairs emotion recognition.

Why does this matter for young cannabis users?

Difficulty recognizing fear and sadness in others is a known risk factor for aggression and antisocial behavior. The researchers suggest that cannabis use during adolescence may worsen this deficit during a critical developmental period.

Read the original research

Alcohol and Cannabis Use Disorder Symptom Severity, Conduct Disorder, and Callous-Unemotional Traits and Impairment in Expression Recognition.

Frontiers in psychiatry, 12, 714189

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Blair, Robert James R; Bashford-Largo, Johannah; Zhang, Ru; Mathur, Avantika; Schwartz, Amanda; Elowsky, Jaimie; Tyler, Patrick; Hammond, Christopher J; Filbey, Francesca M; Dobbertin, Matthew; Bajaj, Sahil; Blair, Karina S. (2021). Alcohol and Cannabis Use Disorder Symptom Severity, Conduct Disorder, and Callous-Unemotional Traits and Impairment in Expression Recognition.. Frontiers in psychiatry, 12, 714189. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.714189