The study examined how attentional bias toward cannabis cues interacts with craving and interference control, finding associations with use severity.
Cognitive psychologists, addiction researchers, clinicians developing CUD interventions, and cannabis users interested in the psychology of use.
Bias-severity linkAttentional bias toward cannabis cues was associated with use severity and moderated by cognitive control
What the researchers found
Attentional bias toward cannabis cues was associated with use severity and craving, and interference control (a measure of cognitive self-regulation) moderated these relationships.
Why it matters
Understanding how implicit cognitive processes like attentional bias interact with craving and self-control can help develop better interventions targeting the specific cognitive mechanisms that maintain cannabis use.
The numbers in context
The study assessed attentional bias, interference control, and craving in cannabis users, examining interactions between these cognitive and motivational processes.
How the study worked
Experimental cognitive assessment measuring attentional bias, interference control, and self-reported craving in cannabis users.
Who was studied
Cannabis users assessed for attentional bias, craving, and cognitive control measures.
What this study cannot tell us
Lab-based cognitive tasks may not fully capture real-world attentional processes; cross-sectional design limits causal conclusions about the direction of effects.
How to read the evidence
Experimental cognitive assessment provides direct measurement of processes; cross-sectional design limits causal claims.
When this study was published
Recent study contributing to the growing field of cognitive mechanisms in cannabis use.
The bigger picture
This research bridges cognitive psychology and addiction science, suggesting that interventions targeting attentional bias or strengthening cognitive control could complement traditional CUD treatments.
Replication
Consistent with attentional bias findings in other substance use disorders; specific cannabis findings add to a smaller evidence base.
Funding
Not specified
Conflicts of interest
Not specified
Questions still open
- Could attentional bias modification training reduce cannabis craving?
- Does interference control predict treatment success?
- How do these cognitive patterns change with abstinence?
Read the original research
The who and how of attentional bias in cannabis users: associations with use severity, craving and interference control.
Addiction (Abingdon, England), 118(2), 307-316
Citation
Kroon, Emese; Kuhns, Lauren; Dunkerbeck, Annette; Cousijn, Janna. (2023). The who and how of attentional bias in cannabis users: associations with use severity, craving and interference control.. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 118(2), 307-316. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.16059