Cannabis use disorder in youth is linked to difficulty recognizing sad and fearful facial expressions
Among 152 youths, more severe cannabis use disorder was associated with poorer recognition of sad and fearful facial expressions, independent of conduct disorder.
Quick Facts
What This Study 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.
Key Numbers
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 They Did This
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.
Why This Research 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 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.
What This Study Doesn't 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.
Questions This Raises
- ?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?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Cannabis use disorder linked to impaired recognition of sad and fearful faces in youth
- Evidence Grade:
- Cross-sectional study with a moderate sample size but inability to establish causation
- Study Age:
- Published in 2021. Research on cannabis and adolescent social cognition is still emerging.
- Original Title:
- Alcohol and Cannabis Use Disorder Symptom Severity, Conduct Disorder, and Callous-Unemotional Traits and Impairment in Expression Recognition.
- Published In:
- Frontiers in psychiatry, 12, 714189 (2021)
- Authors:
- Blair, Robert James R(2), 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
- Database ID:
- RTHC-03005
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked 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 More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-03005APA
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
MLA
Blair, Robert James R, et al. "Alcohol and Cannabis Use Disorder Symptom Severity, Conduct Disorder, and Callous-Unemotional Traits and Impairment in Expression Recognition.." Frontiers in psychiatry, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.714189
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Alcohol and Cannabis Use Disorder Symptom Severity, Conduct ..." RTHC-03005. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/blair-2021-alcohol-and-cannabis-use
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.