Among college students, worsening anxiety predicted more hazardous cannabis use a few months later, and impulsivity traits amplified that connection.
Clinicians working with young adults, researchers studying comorbid mental health and substance use, college health professionals
What the researchers found
In a sample of 2,762 college students tracked over one year, anxiety at the midpoint predicted hazardous cannabis use at the final assessment. The reverse also held: hazardous cannabis use predicted later stress. Impulsivity traits, particularly negative and positive urgency, strengthened the link between emotional distress and problematic use.
Why it matters
This study maps a specific pathway: emotional distress feeds into problematic cannabis use, and impulsivity accelerates that process. It suggests that interventions targeting emotional regulation and impulsive decision-making could interrupt this cycle in young adults.
The numbers in context
2,762 college students; past-month cannabis use was 11.5% at baseline, 3.5% at midpoint, 9.1% at final assessment; cross-lagged effects found between T2 anxiety and T3 hazardous use, and between T2 hazardous use and T3 stress
How the study worked
Longitudinal survey of college students (ages 18-25) assessed at three time points over one year. Structural equation modeling and semi-parametric mixed-effects models examined cross-lagged relationships between mental health symptoms and hazardous cannabis use, with impulsivity, age, and sex as moderators.
What this study cannot tell us
Self-report measures only. College student sample may not generalize to non-college young adults. Cannabis use prevalence dropped sharply at the midpoint, possibly due to seasonal or academic factors.
How to read the evidence
Moderate: longitudinal design with three time points and strong modeling, but relies on self-report and a college-only sample.
When this study was published
2025 study using data collected 2021-2022
The bigger picture
The bidirectional relationship between mental health and cannabis misuse creates a feedback loop that standard treatment approaches may miss. Targeting impulsivity as a modifiable risk factor could offer a practical intervention point.
Questions still open
- Would interventions targeting urgency-related impulsivity reduce hazardous cannabis use in this population?
- Do these bidirectional patterns hold in non-college emerging adults?
Read the original research
Impulsivity traits moderate the longitudinal association between mental health and hazardous cannabis use in emerging adults.
Drug and alcohol review, 44(4), 1049-1061
Citation
González-Roz, Alba; Castaño, Yasmina; Secades-Villa, Roberto; Janssen, Tim; Vallejo-Seco, Guillermo; Blanco, Carlos. (2025). Impulsivity traits moderate the longitudinal association between mental health and hazardous cannabis use in emerging adults.. Drug and alcohol review, 44(4), 1049-1061. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.14047
Explore the wider topic
- LGBTQ+ and Cannabis: Higher Use Rates and Recovery
- Cannabis-Induced Psychosis: What It Is, Who's at Risk, and What to Do
- BetterHelp, Cerebral, and Online Therapy: Honest Review
- Quitting Weed with ADHD: Why It Is Harder and What Actually Helps
- Quitting Weed with Depression: What You Need to Know
- Quitting Weed with PTSD: A Practical Guide
- Self-Medicating with Weed: Why It Works Until It Doesn't
- Weed and OCD: Self-Medicating Intrusive Thoughts
- Weed and PTSD: What the Research Actually Shows
- Weed and Childhood Trauma: ACEs, Self-Medication, and the Path to Real Healing
- Weed and Suicidal Thoughts: What You Need to Know