Veterans with ADHD Symptoms Use Cannabis Mainly for Sleep, but Coping Use Leads to Problems
Among 361 veterans, sleep disturbance was the key motivator linking ADHD symptoms to cannabis use, while using cannabis to cope with negative emotions predicted cannabis-related problems.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Sleep motives mediated the prospective relationship between ADHD symptoms and cannabis use frequency, while coping with negative affect was the only significant mediator of the ADHD-to-cannabis-problems pathway, controlling for demographics, other substance use, and psychopathology.
Key Numbers
361 veterans; 93% male; 80% White; 3 semiannual assessments; sleep motives robustly mediated ADHD-to-cannabis-use path; coping with negative affect was the only significant mediator for cannabis problems.
How They Did This
Prospective mediation study of 361 veterans reporting lifetime cannabis use (93% male, 80% White) across three semiannual assessments, using structural equation modeling with zero-inflated negative binomial models.
Why This Research Matters
Understanding why people with ADHD use cannabis can guide targeted interventions. Addressing sleep problems in ADHD may reduce cannabis use, while targeting coping motives may prevent cannabis-related problems.
The Bigger Picture
The distinction between why people use (sleep) and what leads to problems (emotional coping) suggests that interventions need to address both the functional motivations and the dysfunctional patterns of cannabis use in ADHD.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Predominantly male veteran sample limits generalizability; self-reported cannabis use and motives; latent variable modeling may obscure individual variation.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would treating sleep disturbance in ADHD reduce cannabis use?
- ?Could teaching healthier coping strategies prevent the transition from cannabis use to cannabis problems?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Sleep disturbance drove cannabis use frequency while emotional coping drove cannabis problems
- Evidence Grade:
- Prospective design with structural equation modeling and multiple time points, limited by predominantly male veteran sample.
- Study Age:
- Three semiannual assessments of veterans.
- Original Title:
- Examining motivational pathways from adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms to cannabis use: Results from a prospective study of veterans.
- Published In:
- Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, 35(1), 16-28 (2021)
- Authors:
- Stevens, Angela K(3), Gunn, Rachel L(9), Jackson, Kristina M(8), Borsari, Brian, Metrik, Jane
- Database ID:
- RTHC-03553
Evidence Hierarchy
Enrolls participants and follows them forward in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Why do people with ADHD use cannabis?
This study found that sleep disturbance was the primary motivator linking ADHD symptoms to cannabis use frequency among veterans. Cannabis was being used functionally to address a common ADHD-related problem.
When does cannabis use become a problem for people with ADHD?
Using cannabis specifically to cope with negative emotions, rather than for sleep, was the pathway that predicted cannabis-related problems. This suggests that emotional coping motives are a red flag for problematic use.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-03553APA
Stevens, Angela K; Gunn, Rachel L; Jackson, Kristina M; Borsari, Brian; Metrik, Jane. (2021). Examining motivational pathways from adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms to cannabis use: Results from a prospective study of veterans.. Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, 35(1), 16-28. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000682
MLA
Stevens, Angela K, et al. "Examining motivational pathways from adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms to cannabis use: Results from a prospective study of veterans.." Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000682
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Examining motivational pathways from adult attention-deficit..." RTHC-03553. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/stevens-2021-examining-motivational-pathways-from
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.