On-line personalized feedback intervention for negative affect and cannabis: A pilot randomized controlled trial

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-1-2020

Abstract

Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit substance and many users report difficulty quitting. Situations involving stress and negative affect are the most difficult in which to abstain during quit/reduction attempts. Further, cannabis users with elevated social anxiety experience greater cannabis-related impairment than individuals with more normative levels of social anxiety. Yet, although most persons with cannabis-related problems are interested in quitting and endorse negative emotional symptoms, the vast majority do not seek in-person treatment. Thus, the current study tested the utility of an online personalized feedback intervention (PFI) that integrates feedback regarding cannabis with strategies to manage negative affect (PFI-NAC). Current (past month) cannabis using undergraduates (who used cannabis weekly, on average) were randomly assigned to the 1-session PFI-NAC (n = 37) or an assessment-only control (n = 26) and completed a 2-week follow-up assessment. After controlling for baseline negative affect and cannabis use frequency, social anxiety interacted with condition to predict follow-up cannabis use frequency. Specifically, among those with moderate or high levels of social anxiety, those in PFI-NAC reported less use at follow up than controls; this was not the case among those with lower social anxiety. Results of this pilot study indicate a 1-session intervention that teaches simultaneously teaching skills to manage negative affect and cannabis may benefit some cannabis users with moderate to high social anxiety. Future work with larger samples and a wider range of cannabis users, with longer follow-up assessments, are important next steps. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology

First Page

143

Last Page

149

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