Young Adults at Psychosis Risk Describe What Makes Quitting Cannabis Hard | Research

The takeaway

Qualitative interviews with 20 young adults at risk for psychosis revealed that coping motives, social pressure, and ambivalence about change are the biggest barriers to reducing cannabis use.

Mental health clinicians working with at-risk youth, digital health developers, psychosis researchers

Coping, social pressure, and ambivalence are the top barriers to quitting for psychosis-risk youth

What the researchers found

Five key barriers to reducing cannabis emerged: using cannabis to cope, social influences, dependence symptoms, easy access, and ambivalence about change. Four facilitators included experiencing negative consequences, focusing on personal motivation, social support, and building coping skills.

Why it matters

Cannabis use disorder is especially common among young people at risk for psychosis, yet few interventions are tailored to this vulnerable group. Understanding their specific barriers is essential for designing effective tools.

The numbers in context

20 participants, 60% female, all at high risk for psychosis. Five barrier themes and four facilitator themes identified through thematic analysis.

How the study worked

Qualitative study with surveys and individual interviews of 20 young adults (60% female) at clinical high risk for psychosis who use cannabis, analyzed through thematic analysis.

What this study cannot tell us

Small qualitative sample limits generalizability. Self-selected participants may be more motivated to quit than the broader population. Single site study.

How to read the evidence

Small qualitative study provides rich insights but cannot quantify effect sizes or generalize broadly.

When this study was published

2025 study informing mobile intervention development for a high-risk population.

The bigger picture

The overlap between cannabis use and psychosis risk is well established, but most quit-support tools are generic. This study provides the kind of user-centered insight needed to build interventions that actually work for high-risk populations.

Questions still open

Would a mobile app built on these findings actually reduce cannabis use in this population? How do psychosis symptoms specifically interact with cannabis quit attempts?

Common questions

Why is it hard for people at psychosis risk to quit cannabis?

This study found they face unique challenges including using cannabis to cope with distressing symptoms, strong social influences to keep using, dependence symptoms, easy access, and deep ambivalence about whether quitting is worth it.

Could a phone app help young people at psychosis risk reduce cannabis use?

Participants said they want personalized features including goal setting, self-monitoring, coping skills training, and affirming messages. Whether such an app works remains to be tested.

Read the original research

Qualitative interviews with young adults at risk for psychosis and who use Cannabis: Informing the development of a mobile intervention.

Addictive behaviors, 161, 108216

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Merrill, Jennifer E; Moitra, Ethan; Giorlando, Kayla; Olsen, Elizabeth M; Leigland, Avery; Abrantes, Ana M; Whiteley, Laura. (2025). Qualitative interviews with young adults at risk for psychosis and who use Cannabis: Informing the development of a mobile intervention.. Addictive behaviors, 161, 108216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.108216