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Published on: August 18, 2020
Posttraumatic stress, difficulties in emotion regulation, and coping-oriented marijuana use
Marcel O Bonn-Miller1, Anka A Vujanovic, Matthew Tyler Boden
1National Center for PTSD and Center for Health Care Evaluation, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, California 94025, USA. Marcel.Bonn-Miller@va.gov
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
|February 22, 2011
Summary
Difficulties in emotion regulation fully explain why people with severe posttraumatic stress symptoms use marijuana to cope. Addressing emotion regulation may help treat co-occurring posttraumatic stress and marijuana use.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychiatry
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Posttraumatic stress symptom severity is positively associated with marijuana use for coping.
- The underlying mechanisms explaining this association require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test if difficulties in emotion regulation mediate the relationship between posttraumatic stress symptom severity and marijuana use coping motives.
Main Methods:
- Seventy-nine adults with a history of trauma and recent marijuana use participated.
- The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale assessed emotion regulation.
- Posttraumatic stress symptom severity and marijuana use coping motives were measured.
Main Results:
- Difficulties in emotion regulation fully mediated the association between posttraumatic stress symptom severity and marijuana use coping motives.
- This mediation suggests emotion dysregulation is a key factor linking PTSD and coping-oriented marijuana use.
Conclusions:
- Emotion regulation difficulties play a critical role in the coping-oriented marijuana use among individuals with posttraumatic stress.
- Findings have implications for integrated treatment approaches for co-occurring posttraumatic stress and marijuana use disorders.
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