Among college students with schizotypy traits, those with higher social anxiety reported more frequent cannabis use and more cannabis-related problems.
Read this if you experience social anxiety and have noticed your cannabis use increasing alongside it.
Social anxiety moderated cannabis problems across all three schizotypy subtypes
What the researchers found
Researchers studied over 650 college undergraduates, comparing those with elevated schizotypy traits to controls. Among cannabis users, social anxiety stood out as a consistent moderator: people with both schizotypy traits and higher social anxiety used cannabis more frequently and experienced more cannabis-related problems.
This pattern held across positive, negative, and disorganized schizotypy subtypes. Depression and trait anxiety also played a role, but their effects varied depending on the schizotypy subtype. Social anxiety was the most consistent predictor across all groups.
Why it matters
This study highlights social anxiety as a potential treatment target for cannabis-related problems in people with schizotypy traits. Rather than treating cannabis use in isolation, addressing the underlying social anxiety might reduce both the motivation to use and the harms that follow.
The numbers in context
220 participants with schizotypy traits vs. 436 controls. Among cannabis users: 88 with schizotypy, 83 controls. Social anxiety moderated the schizotypy-cannabis relationship across all three schizotypy subgroups.
How the study worked
The study used a cross-sectional design with 220 participants meeting schizotypy criteria and 436 controls, all college undergraduates. Schizotypy was measured with the SPQ-BR, social anxiety with the SIAS, and depression and trait anxiety with the BSI. Among those groups, 88 schizotypy participants and 83 controls were cannabis users whose frequency and problems were analyzed.
What this study cannot tell us
The cross-sectional design means the study cannot determine whether social anxiety causes increased cannabis use or vice versa. The sample was limited to college undergraduates, who may not represent the broader population of people with schizotypy traits. Self-report measures are subject to recall and reporting biases.
How to read the evidence
Cross-sectional study in a college sample; cannot establish causation or generalize broadly.
When this study was published
Published in 2012. The relationship between schizotypy, social anxiety, and cannabis use remains an active research area.
The bigger picture
People with schizotypy traits are considered at elevated risk for psychosis, and cannabis use may increase that risk further. Understanding why people in this group use cannabis more heavily, specifically that social anxiety may be driving the behavior, could inform early intervention strategies.
Questions still open
- Would treating social anxiety in people with schizotypy traits reduce their cannabis use? Does this social anxiety-cannabis link hold in clinical populations with diagnosed schizophrenia-spectrum disorders? Could longitudinal studies clarify whether social anxiety drives cannabis use or the reverse?
Common questions
What is schizotypy?
Does social anxiety cause people to use more cannabis?
Read the original research
Cannabis use and schizotypy: the role of social anxiety and other negative affective states.
Psychiatry research, 200(2-3), 660-8
Citation
Najolia, Gina M; Buckner, Julia D; Cohen, Alex S. (2012). Cannabis use and schizotypy: the role of social anxiety and other negative affective states.. Psychiatry research, 200(2-3), 660-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2012.07.042
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