(78) Relations Between Cannabis Craving, Distress Intolerance, And Coping Motives: A Pilot Study

Background & Introduction: Many individuals endorse cannabis use as a tool for managing negative affective states (e.g., anxiety, stress). However, extant research demonstrates that when used specifically for distress coping, cannabis can exacerbate affective outcomes. Distress intolerance (DI) describes one’s inability to endure various stressors and has been associated with increased vulnerability toward substance use and substance use craving. To date, DI has predominately been examined as a stable, trait-level predictor; but recent works suggest that DI is likely state-dependent and may fluctuate on a daily and momentary basis. State-level DI has demonstrated relations with cigarette and alcohol craving, but less is known about relations between DI and cannabis craving. Further, given associations between cannabis coping motives and use outcomes, examination of DI as it interacts with coping motives could elucidate key factors associated with cannabis craving. This ecological momentary assessment study investigates the roles of trait and state DI on momentary cannabis craving and the moderating role of cannabis coping motives.

Methods: Young adults aged 21 – 30 years (N = 33) who reported cannabis use at least three times per week over the past month completed a daily diary study assessing momentary craving and DI over a two-week period. Participants completed one morning report and three random reports daily in addition to self-initiated cannabis use reports at cannabis use events as applicable. Cannabis coping motives and trait DI were assessed at baseline, while state DI and craving were assessed at all random and cannabis use reports. Multilevel modeling was used to examine the effects of trait-level DI, simultaneous between- and within-person (e.g. within day (i.e. day-level) and within person (i.e. event-level) effects of state-level DI, and the moderating influence of coping motives on momentary craving. We predicted that between- and within-centered state-level DI would be positively associated with momentary craving and that this relation would be stronger for those higher in coping motives.

Results: Results indicated significant main effects of coping motives (b=1.12, p=0.01) and event-level DI (b=0.39, p<.001) on momentary craving. After inclusion of the interaction terms between coping motives and DI variables, greater event- (b=0.43, p<.001) and day-level (b=.57, p<.001) DI were associated with greater momentary craving. Additionally, there was a significant interaction between coping motives and day-level DI (b= -0.58, p=0.003) such that the relation between DI and craving was stronger for those higher in coping motives. There were no significant associations between trait DI and momentary craving.

Conclusion & Discussion: Increased event- and day-level DI were associated with greater momentary cannabis craving. This was especially pronounced among those high in cannabis coping motives. Notably, trait DI was not associated with momentary craving. These findings underscore the importance of examining DI as state-level predictor. Future work should aim to examine DI across social and physical contexts and assess DI as a modifiable treatment target for cannabis use interventions, particularly those utilizing just-in-time designs.

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