People Who Fear Anxiety and Believe Cannabis Helps Are Most Likely to Use It to Cope
Anxiety sensitivity predicted coping-oriented cannabis use, but only when people also held positive expectations about what cannabis would do for them.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
The interaction between anxiety sensitivity and positive cannabis expectancies was significant: the link between anxiety sensitivity and coping-oriented use was stronger when positive expectancies were high. This pattern held for cognitive and social concerns but not physical concerns specifically.
Key Numbers
232 undergraduates with past-six-month cannabis use. Significant interaction: anxiety sensitivity x positive expectancies on coping use. Effect stronger at high vs low expectancy levels. Cognitive and social (but not physical) AS concerns showed same pattern.
How They Did This
Cross-sectional survey of 232 undergraduates reporting past-six-month cannabis use. Moderation analyses tested using PROCESS macro for SPSS.
Why This Research Matters
This explains why previous research on anxiety sensitivity and cannabis use has been inconsistent. Anxiety sensitivity alone does not drive coping use; it is the combination of fearing anxiety AND believing cannabis will help that creates risk for problematic use patterns.
The Bigger Picture
Coping-oriented cannabis use is one of the strongest predictors of developing cannabis use disorder. Identifying the specific combination of risk factors (fear of anxiety + positive expectations) that drives coping use could help target prevention efforts more precisely.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Cross-sectional design. Undergraduate sample may not generalize. Self-report measures. Only past-six-month cannabis users included, creating selection bias.
Questions This Raises
- ?Could challenging positive cannabis expectancies reduce coping-oriented use in anxious individuals?
- ?Would these patterns hold in clinical anxiety populations?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- High anxiety + high expectations = highest coping use risk
- Evidence Grade:
- Cross-sectional undergraduate sample. Interesting moderator finding but needs replication in diverse populations.
- Study Age:
- 2026 study.
- Original Title:
- Anxiety Sensitivity and Coping-Oriented Cannabis Use: The Moderating Role of Positive Cannabis Expectancies.
- Published In:
- Substance use & misuse, 1-8 (2026)
- Authors:
- Reyes, Lauren D, Short, Nicole A(5)
- Database ID:
- RTHC-08582
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Why do some anxious people use cannabis to cope?
This study suggests it is not anxiety alone but the combination of fearing anxiety symptoms AND believing cannabis will provide relief that drives coping-oriented use.
Is using cannabis to cope with anxiety risky?
Coping-oriented use is one of the strongest predictors of developing problematic cannabis use patterns and cannabis use disorder.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-08582APA
Reyes, Lauren D; Short, Nicole A. (2026). Anxiety Sensitivity and Coping-Oriented Cannabis Use: The Moderating Role of Positive Cannabis Expectancies.. Substance use & misuse, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2026.2616327
MLA
Reyes, Lauren D, et al. "Anxiety Sensitivity and Coping-Oriented Cannabis Use: The Moderating Role of Positive Cannabis Expectancies.." Substance use & misuse, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2026.2616327
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Anxiety Sensitivity and Coping-Oriented Cannabis Use: The Mo..." RTHC-08582. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/reyes-2026-anxiety-sensitivity-and-copingoriented
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.