A study of 203 daily cannabis users found that negative affectivity (the tendency to experience negative emotions) mediated the relationship between low perceived distress tolerance and cannabis use problems, withdrawal, cessation barriers, and low quitting self-efficacy.
Addiction therapists working with cannabis users; researchers studying emotion regulation and substance use; clinical program developers.
Negative affectivity mediated the link between distress intolerance and all four cannabis outcomes
What the researchers found
Researchers studied 203 urban adult daily cannabis users (29.2% female, mean age 37.7, 63% African American) to understand why low distress tolerance is linked to cannabis problems.
Negative affectivity (the general tendency to experience negative emotions) significantly mediated the relationship between distress tolerance and multiple cannabis outcomes:
- Cannabis use problems (b=-0.58, 95% CI [-1.14, -0.21])
- Cannabis withdrawal (b=-0.65, 95% CI [-1.36, -0.21])
- Self-efficacy for quitting (b=-0.83, 95% CI [-1.85, -0.22])
- Perceived barriers to cessation (b=-0.71, 95% CI [-1.51, -0.24])
In other words, people who perceive they cannot tolerate distress tend to experience more negative emotions generally, which in turn drives cannabis problems, withdrawal severity, low confidence in quitting, and perception of more barriers to stopping.
Why it matters
Identifying negative affectivity as the mechanism linking distress intolerance to cannabis problems suggests a specific treatment target. Interventions that help daily users manage negative emotions could potentially reduce cannabis problems and improve quitting success.
The numbers in context
203 daily cannabis users. 29.2% female, mean age 37.7, 63% African American. Significant indirect effects through negative affectivity on all four outcomes (all confidence intervals excluded zero).
How the study worked
Cross-sectional study of 203 daily cannabis users. Self-report measures of distress tolerance, negative affectivity, cannabis use problems, withdrawal, quitting self-efficacy, and perceived cessation barriers. Mediation analysis to test indirect effects.
What this study cannot tell us
Cross-sectional design cannot establish causal direction. Self-report measures of all variables. Sample limited to urban daily users, mostly African American, so generalizability is uncertain. Distress tolerance was measured as perceived capability, not actual behavioral tolerance.
How to read the evidence
Moderate. Clear mediation findings with appropriate statistical methods, but cross-sectional design limits causal inference.
When this study was published
Published in 2018. Emotion-focused approaches to cannabis use disorder treatment have continued to develop.
The bigger picture
This fits within a broader understanding of addiction as partly driven by emotional dysregulation. Rather than cannabis use being a "choice" issue, it may be fundamentally an emotion management issue for daily users, with cannabis serving as an ineffective coping strategy.
Questions still open
- Would emotion regulation interventions reduce cannabis problems in daily users? Is negative affectivity a cause of cannabis problems or a consequence of daily use? Would these findings replicate in non-urban or less frequent user populations?
Common questions
What is negative affectivity?
How could this help with cannabis treatment?
Read the original research
Negative affectivity as a mechanism underlying perceived distress tolerance and cannabis use problems, barriers to cessation, and self-efficacy for quitting among urban cannabis users.
Addictive behaviors, 78, 216-222
Citation
Manning, Kara; Paulus, Daniel J; Hogan, Julianna B D; Buckner, Julia D; Farris, Samantha G; Zvolensky, Michael J. (2018). Negative affectivity as a mechanism underlying perceived distress tolerance and cannabis use problems, barriers to cessation, and self-efficacy for quitting among urban cannabis users.. Addictive behaviors, 78, 216-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.11.041
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