Anxiety sensitivity predicted coping-oriented cannabis use, but only when people also held positive expectations about what cannabis would do for them.
Mental health professionals, addiction counselors, and anxious cannabis users.
High anxiety + high expectations = highest coping use risk
What the researchers 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.
Why it 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 numbers in context
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 the study worked
Cross-sectional survey of 232 undergraduates reporting past-six-month cannabis use. Moderation analyses tested using PROCESS macro for SPSS.
What this study cannot tell us
Cross-sectional design. Undergraduate sample may not generalize. Self-report measures. Only past-six-month cannabis users included, creating selection bias.
How to read the evidence
Cross-sectional undergraduate sample. Interesting moderator finding but needs replication in diverse populations.
When this study was published
2026 study.
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.
Questions still open
- Could challenging positive cannabis expectancies reduce coping-oriented use in anxious individuals? Would these patterns hold in clinical anxiety populations?
Common questions
Why do some anxious people use cannabis to cope?
Is using cannabis to cope with anxiety risky?
Read the original research
Anxiety Sensitivity and Coping-Oriented Cannabis Use: The Moderating Role of Positive Cannabis Expectancies.
Substance use & misuse, 1-8
Citation
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
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