Project 466543

Background: Chronic cannabis use is associated with a variety of health issues; including cognitive impairment and worsened mental health. Social anxiety (SA) is frequently associated with cannabis use and the associated negative consequences. Coping motives for cannabis use are also frequently associated with negative consequences. Additionally, people high in SA are more likely to list coping motives as opposed to other motives for use. Despite theory pointing to SA as a predictor of use, empirical evidence suggests that the pathway is not clean cut, with not all individuals with SA using cannabis to cope. Negative Urgency (tendency to act impulsively when distressed) may moderate this association. Aim: We are aiming to test negative urgency as a moderator of the association between SA and cope motives. The association between cope motives and the negative consequences of cannabis use will also be investigated. Methods: Undergraduate students (18-25 years old) will complete a battery of online questionnaires self-reporting on cannabis use consequences (MACQ), cannabis use motives (CMMQ), SA (LSAS), and negative urgency (UPPS-P). Proposed Analyses: Regression analysis will be used to test the moderating effect of negative urgency on SA and coping motives, and simple linear correlation will be used to assess the relation between coping motives and negative consequences. Expected Results: We expect to find that individuals who are high in SA will be more likely to use for coping motives, and that this association will be stronger for those who have higher scores in negative urgency. Further, we expect to see that coping motives will positively correlate with the negative consequences of cannabis use.