Morning Willingness and Social Motives Predicted Same-Day Combined Alcohol and Cannabis Use in College Students
College students who reported higher willingness and social motives in the morning were more likely to use alcohol and cannabis simultaneously later that evening.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Morning willingness to use and social motives predicted later-day simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use. By afternoon, willingness and cross-fading motives (wanting combined effects) became significant predictors. Conformity motives (using because of peer pressure) were actually associated with lower odds of use. Since most use occurred after 9 PM, there was a large window between early-day predictors and actual use.
Key Numbers
119 college students, 8 assessments per day, 4 consecutive weekends. Morning willingness and social motives significantly predicted later-day use. Afternoon willingness and cross-fading motives also predicted use. Conformity motives were associated with lower odds. Most use occurred after 9 PM.
How They Did This
Ecological momentary assessment (8 prompts/day) across four consecutive weekends with 119 college students (63% female, 73% non-Hispanic White) who reported weekly simultaneous use. Multilevel models examined morning and afternoon psychosocial predictors of later-day use.
Why This Research Matters
Simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use carries higher risks than using either alone. Identifying early-day warning signs creates a window for real-time digital interventions that could reach students before they start using.
The Bigger Picture
This research lays groundwork for "just-in-time adaptive interventions," smartphone-delivered messages tailored to real-time risk factors that could reach college students during the hours between their intention to use and actual use.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Small sample (119) of weekly simultaneous users, limiting generalizability. Participants knew they were being monitored, which could change behavior. Only four weekends of data. Self-selected sample of already-regular users.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would a phone-based intervention delivered between morning risk signals and evening use reduce simultaneous consumption?
- ?Do these early-day predictors differ for people who occasionally versus habitually use simultaneously?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Morning social motives and willingness predicted simultaneous use that typically occurred after 9 PM
- Evidence Grade:
- Preliminary: small sample of regular simultaneous users with only four weekends of ecological momentary assessment data.
- Study Age:
- 2025 study.
- Original Title:
- Early-day psychosocial predictors of later-day simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use among college-attending young adults.
- Published In:
- Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, 39(3), 278-289 (2025)
- Authors:
- Linden-Carmichael, Ashley N(5), Chiang, Shou-Chun(2), Van Doren, Natalia(2), Bhandari, Sandesh
- Database ID:
- RTHC-06955
Evidence Hierarchy
Watches what happens naturally without intervening.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
What is simultaneous use?
Using alcohol and cannabis at the same time so their effects overlap, which research links to greater impairment and higher risk of harms than using either substance alone.
Could peer pressure drive this behavior?
Interestingly, conformity motives (using because others do) were associated with lower odds of simultaneous use, while social motives (using to enhance social situations) were associated with higher odds.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-06955APA
Linden-Carmichael, Ashley N; Chiang, Shou-Chun; Van Doren, Natalia; Bhandari, Sandesh. (2025). Early-day psychosocial predictors of later-day simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use among college-attending young adults.. Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, 39(3), 278-289. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0001043
MLA
Linden-Carmichael, Ashley N, et al. "Early-day psychosocial predictors of later-day simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use among college-attending young adults.." Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0001043
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Early-day psychosocial predictors of later-day simultaneous ..." RTHC-06955. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/linden-carmichael-2025-earlyday-psychosocial-predictors-of
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.