New Scale Measures Why People with ADHD Symptoms Use Cannabis | Research

The takeaway

A new 28-item scale captures five distinct cannabis use motives related to attention and affect, with ADHD-risk individuals scoring higher on attention enhancement, negative affect, and social anxiety reduction.

ADHD clinicians, substance use researchers, scale development methodologists

What the researchers found

The Cannabis Attention and Affect Motives Scale (CAAMS) yielded 5 factors: Negative Affect Reduction, Attention Enhancement, Attention and Behavior Motivation, Social Anxiety Reduction, and Recreation/Relaxation Enhancement. ADHD-risk groups showed significantly higher scores on all factors except Recreation/Relaxation, suggesting ADHD-specific motivations beyond general cannabis use.

Why it matters

People with ADHD are overrepresented among cannabis users, and many report using it to manage symptoms. This scale provides the first validated tool to measure these specific motivations, enabling better research and clinical assessment.

The numbers in context

417 participants. Initial 46-item pool refined to 28 items across 5 factors. ADHD-risk groups differed significantly on 4 of 5 factors. Recreation/Relaxation was the only factor not differing by ADHD risk.

How the study worked

Online survey of 417 adult cannabis users (61.9% male, predominantly NZ/European). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on split-half samples yielded a 28-item, 5-factor model. Post-hoc comparisons across low, medium, and high ADHD-risk groups.

What this study cannot tell us

Predominantly New Zealand/European sample limits generalizability. Online self-report subject to bias. ADHD risk screener is not equivalent to clinical diagnosis. Cross-sectional design. Factor structure needs replication.

How to read the evidence

Sound psychometric development with split-half validation, but initial validation sample is culturally narrow and uses ADHD risk screening rather than diagnosis.

When this study was published

Published 2026, first scale designed for ADHD-specific cannabis use motivations.

The bigger picture

The self-medication hypothesis for ADHD and cannabis has been debated for years but lacked proper measurement tools. This scale could finally enable rigorous research into whether cannabis actually helps ADHD symptoms or just feels like it does.

Questions still open

Does cannabis actually improve attention in people with ADHD, or does it just reduce distress about attention problems? Would the factor structure hold in clinically diagnosed ADHD populations? Could this scale predict cannabis use disorder risk in ADHD?

Common questions

Why do people with ADHD use cannabis?

Beyond recreation, this study found four ADHD-specific motivations: reducing negative emotions, enhancing attention, improving focus and behavioral control, and reducing social anxiety — suggesting people with ADHD have distinct reasons for cannabis use.

Does cannabis help ADHD symptoms?

Many people with ADHD report using cannabis for symptom management, but this scale measures motivations, not whether it actually works. What it shows is that ADHD-risk individuals have measurably different reasons for using cannabis compared to others.

Read the original research

Development and Initial Validation of the Cannabis Attention and Affect Motives Scale.

Substance use & misuse, 61(3), 441-450

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Lowden, Danielle S; Wong, Jennifer H K; Harty, Seth C. (2026). Development and Initial Validation of the Cannabis Attention and Affect Motives Scale.. Substance use & misuse, 61(3), 441-450. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2025.2565420