Anxiety sensitivity and cannabis use: A systematic review and conceptualization of research findings

IF 4.2 2区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL

Behaviour Research and Therapy Pub Date : 2025-03-21 DOI:10.1016/j.brat.2025.104733

Nicole A. Short , Rachel Weese , Mattea Pezza , Michele A. Bedard-Gilligan

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives

Anxiety sensitivity (AS), or fear of anxious arousal, is a transdiagnostic risk factor that may be associated with greater risk for problematic cannabis use. Individuals with high AS may use cannabis to cope with distressing physiological sensations. However, there is also conflicting research suggesting that individuals with high AS may avoid cannabis use because it is perceived to cause unpleasant physiological sensations. Rates of cannabis use disorder (CUD) are high and escalating in the US, so identification and understanding of risk factors such as AS is crucial for prevention and treatment of CUD. The purpose of the current review is to summarize and critically review the, at times, conflicting existing research on AS and CUD, present a unifying conceptualization of AS as a risk factor for CUD, and establish a future research agenda.

Methods

Empirical studies indexed in PubMed or PsycInfo as of Spring 2024 testing associations between AS and cannabis use were included. Fifty studies were reviewed and coded by two independent coders who evaluated study characteristics and risk of bias.

Results

Results were qualitatively synthesized and suggested a direct association between elevated AS and greater levels of coping-oriented and possibly problematic cannabis use, but not lifetime cannabis use or cannabis use frequency.

Discussion

A conceptual model is presented in which high AS may lead to greater coping-oriented cannabis use, and, in turn, problematic cannabis use in the presence of symptoms of psychopathology and positive cannabis expectancies. Future research should test this model utilizing prospective and/or experimental studies with valid assessments of AS and cannabis use among diverse cannabis using samples.

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来源期刊

Behaviour Research and Therapy PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL-

CiteScore

7.50

自引率

7.30%

发文量

148

期刊介绍： The major focus of Behaviour Research and Therapy is an experimental psychopathology approach to understanding emotional and behavioral disorders and their prevention and treatment, using cognitive, behavioral, and psychophysiological (including neural) methods and models. This includes laboratory-based experimental studies with healthy, at risk and subclinical individuals that inform clinical application as well as studies with clinically severe samples. The following types of submissions are encouraged: theoretical reviews of mechanisms that contribute to psychopathology and that offer new treatment targets; tests of novel, mechanistically focused psychological interventions, especially ones that include theory-driven or experimentally-derived predictors, moderators and mediators; and innovations in dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices into clinical practice in psychology and associated fields, especially those that target underlying mechanisms or focus on novel approaches to treatment delivery. In addition to traditional psychological disorders, the scope of the journal includes behavioural medicine (e.g., chronic pain). The journal will not consider manuscripts dealing primarily with measurement, psychometric analyses, and personality assessment.