Unraveling Cannabis Use Motivations in Hispanic/Latine Communities

Anxiety sensitivity and cannabis-related problems among Hispanic/Latine adults: The roles of sex and cannabis use motives.

Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology • • Moderately Relevant
🤖

AI Summary

This groundbreaking study explores cannabis use patterns among Hispanic/Latine adults, revealing complex relationships between anxiety sensitivity (AS) and cannabis-related behaviors. Researchers examined 520 participants to understand how fear of anxiety-related symptoms influences cannabis consumption across different genders.

The study uncovered significant insights into cannabis use motivations, demonstrating that individuals with higher anxiety sensitivity tend to use cannabis for various reasons, including social connection, coping mechanisms, and personal expansion. Notably, while men and women shared many similar motivations, men showed an additional enhancement-driven motivation not observed in women. The research highlights that anxiety sensitivity plays a crucial role in predicting cannabis-related problems, though it does not directly impact usage frequency.

Practically, these findings emphasize the importance of understanding individual and gender-specific motivations for cannabis use, particularly within the Hispanic/Latine community. The research suggests that mental health factors like anxiety sensitivity can significantly influence cannabis consumption patterns, pointing to the need for tailored approaches in cannabis use education and intervention strategies.

💡 Key Findings

1
Anxiety sensitivity is significantly related to cannabis-related problems across both men and women
High
85%
2
Shared cannabis use motives include social, coping, conformity, and expansion across genders
Good
75%
3
Men showed additional enhancement motives for cannabis use not seen in women
Good
70%
4
Anxiety sensitivity impacts cannabis problems indirectly through different motivational pathways
Good
65%

📄 Original Abstract

Hispanic/Latine adults evince worse cannabis-related problems, yet little research has identified factors related to these health disparities. One factor that may play a role is anxiety sensitivity (AS; fear of anxiety-related symptoms). AS is associated with more cannabis-related problems, yet despite observed sex differences in the relation of other affective processes and cannabis outcomes, little attention has been paid to the role of sex in the relation of AS to cannabis outcomes. We tested whether the relations between AS and cannabis-related behaviors varied by sex among 520 (44.2% female) Hispanic/Latine adults who endorsed past month cannabis use. Among both men and women, AS was significantly related to more cannabis problems (but not frequency) and social, coping, conformity, and expansion motives. Among men, AS was also significantly correlated with enhancement motives. Sex did not moderate the associations between AS and cannabis outcomes. For men and women, the relation of AS with cannabis-related problems occurred indirectly via conformity motives, and via coping motives among men and via expansion motives among women. These data indicate that among individuals with greater AS, men and women report using cannabis for both similar (social, coping, conformity, and expansion motives) but also different (enhancement) reasons, and that motives for cannabis use may play different roles in the relation of AS to cannabis problems based on sex. Results highlight the importance of attending to potential sex differences in efforts to understand the role AS may have in risky cannabis use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Explore More Research

Stay informed about the latest cannabis science.

Your stash, decoded.