Rural young adults reported lower subjective social status, and a pathway from rurality through lower social status and emotion dysregulation to hazardous cannabis use was identified.
Rural health providers, substance use prevention researchers, and community health planners.
Rurality predicted hazardous cannabis use through lower subjective social status and emotion dysregulation
What the researchers found
Rural participants reported significantly lower subjective social status (SSS) than urban peers. While rural-urban differences in cannabis use were not statistically significant, serial mediation analysis found an indirect pathway from rurality to hazardous cannabis use through lower SSS and greater emotion dysregulation (b=0.06, 95% CI: 0.002-0.16).
Why it matters
Rural communities are often overlooked in substance use research. Identifying that perceived social status and emotional regulation difficulties may drive cannabis use in rural areas points to specific intervention targets.
The numbers in context
N=400 young adults. Rural participants had significantly lower SSS. Rural-urban cannabis use differences nonsignificant. Indirect mediation effect: b=0.06 (95% CI: 0.002-0.16) from rurality through SSS and emotion dysregulation to hazardous cannabis use.
How the study worked
Cross-sectional online survey of 400 young adults nationally. Measured rurality, subjective social status, emotion dysregulation, and cannabis use patterns. Serial mediation analysis tested the SSS-emotion dysregulation pathway.
What this study cannot tell us
Cross-sectional design. Self-selected online sample. Small effect size for the mediation pathway. Rural-urban cannabis use differences were not significant directly. SSS is a single-item measure.
How to read the evidence
Small cross-sectional study with a novel but marginally significant mediation pathway. Requires replication.
When this study was published
2025 publication.
The bigger picture
The role of subjective social status (how people perceive their position relative to others) as a predictor of cannabis risk highlights that economic inequality and perceived disadvantage may drive substance use independently of objective poverty measures.
Questions still open
- Would improving perceived social status in rural communities reduce cannabis use?
- Do emotion regulation interventions work differently in rural versus urban settings?
Read the original research
Cannabis Use in Rural and Urban Young Adults: The Role of Subjective Social Status and Emotion Dysregulation.
Substance use & misuse, 60(14), 2270-2279
Citation
K, Rathod; P, Goodhines. (2025). Cannabis Use in Rural and Urban Young Adults: The Role of Subjective Social Status and Emotion Dysregulation.. Substance use & misuse, 60(14), 2270-2279. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2025.2540936
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