Sexual Assault History Moderates Prospective Pathways From Sexual Orientation to Cannabis Use Outcomes.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Public Health
• Sociology

Background:

• Sexual assault (SA) is a prevalent issue in the US, disproportionately affecting young women.
• While alcohol use is a known consequence of SA, research on cannabis use is limited.
• Sexual minority women (SMW) may face heightened risks for both SA and cannabis use due to minority stress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between lifetime SA history and sexual orientation in predicting cannabis use.
• To investigate the longitudinal trajectories of cannabis use over four years in young adult women.
• To test for an interaction effect between SA history and sexual orientation on cannabis use patterns.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal community sample of young adult women (N=179) was assessed annually for four years.
• Data included annual and daily assessments of cannabis use, SA history, and sexual orientation.
• Multilevel modeling was employed to analyze cannabis use trajectories and the influence of SA and sexual orientation.

Main Results:

• No significant changes in cannabis use were observed over the four-year study period.
• At baseline, sexual minority women (SMW) reported higher cannabis use than heterosexual women (IRR=4.10, p=.007).
• A marginally significant interaction indicated that SMW with a history of SA reported the highest cannabis use (IRR=7.80, p=.055).

Conclusions:

• Findings suggest an intersectionality effect of sexual orientation and SA history on cannabis use.
• Current post-SA interventions focusing on alcohol may overlook cannabis use, a significant issue for vulnerable populations like SMW.
• Future interventions should consider addressing cannabis use as a coping mechanism following SA, especially for sexual minority women.