New Scale Measures Why People with ADHD Symptoms Use Cannabis
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.
Quick Facts
What This Study 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.
Key Numbers
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 They Did This
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.
Why This Research 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 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.
What This Study Doesn't 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.
Questions This Raises
- ?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?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Evidence Grade:
- Sound psychometric development with split-half validation, but initial validation sample is culturally narrow and uses ADHD risk screening rather than diagnosis.
- Study Age:
- Published 2026, first scale designed for ADHD-specific cannabis use motivations.
- Original Title:
- Development and Initial Validation of the Cannabis Attention and Affect Motives Scale.
- Published In:
- Substance use & misuse, 61(3), 441-450 (2026)
- Authors:
- Lowden, Danielle S, Wong, Jennifer H K, Harty, Seth C
- Database ID:
- RTHC-08446
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked 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.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-08446APA
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
MLA
Lowden, Danielle S, et al. "Development and Initial Validation of the Cannabis Attention and Affect Motives Scale.." Substance use & misuse, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2025.2565420
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Development and Initial Validation of the Cannabis Attention..." RTHC-08446. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/lowden-2026-development-and-initial-validation
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.