Daily alcohol and cannabis use among sexual minoritized and heterosexual women

Couse of alcohol and cannabis is associated with negative mental health and social-behavioral problems, but daily mood or affect-related predictors of such use are not well understood. Sexual minoritized women (SMW) report significant substance use disparities related to sexual minority stress, yet little is known about daily associations between substance use (alcohol or cannabis used independently or concurrently) and affect or how those associations may be moderated by sexual identity. We examined whether daily positive or negative affect was associated with use of alcohol only, cannabis only, or concurrent (i.e., same-day) use and whether those associations varied by sexual identity (SMW vs. heterosexual; bisexual vs. lesbian or heterosexual).

Women (N = 246; 18-35 years; 88 lesbian, 84 bisexual, 74 heterosexual) completed once-daily surveys for consecutive 12 weeks.

Mixed-effects multinomial logistic regression analyses found that alcohol only and concurrent use were more likely on days when women reported greater positive affect, and this association was stronger for heterosexual than SMW. Women who reported higher mean negative affect were more likely to report cannabis use (but not alcohol or concurrent use) on a given day. SMW were more likely than heterosexual women to report alcohol only and concurrent use days, with bisexual women more likely than heterosexual women to report concurrent use days.

Additional research is needed to understand intervening mechanisms in relationships between affect and substance use at the daily level among SMW. Results are needed to inform intervention efforts to reduce substance use in this population. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).