Examining the Relationship Between Emotion Regulation Ability and Cannabis Use Frequency

Authors: Nicolette Faller, Whitney Brown

SUNY Campus: SUNY Geneseo

Presentation Type: Poster

Location: Old Union Hall

Presentation #: 37

Timeslot: Session A 9:00-10:00 AM

Abstract: Emotion regulation is known to play a role in substance use behavior (Weiss, et. al., 2022), but the relationships with cannabis are not yet widely studied. This analysis examines how emotion regulation (ER) ability, measured by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) 18 (DERS-18; Victor & Klonsky, 2016) is related to cannabis use frequency, measured by the Drug and Alcohol Frequency Questionnaire - Cannabis Use (DFAQ-CU) (DFAQ-CU; Cutler & Spradlin 2017). The hypothesis stated lower ER ability is a predictor of higher cannabis use frequency. 153 participants completed an online questionnaire including these measures, and the data were analyzed using correlation and ANOVA tests. The correlation test showed a significant positive correlation between DERS-18 score and cannabis use frequency (r = 0.263), suggesting greater ER difficulties are associated with increased cannabis consumption. To analyze further, variables were split into groups based on past month cannabis use occurrences and ER ability. An ANOVA test showed no significant differences in ER ability across use levels (low, near daily, and daily use), r = 0.09, p < .05. Another ANOVA showed level of ER ability (DERS score separated by top, middle, and bottom third score) is a predictor of cannabis use frequency between the bottom and middle third score levels. These findings show an association between ER ability and cannabis use frequency, suggesting that ER ability could be an important factor in predicting cannabis use frequency. These findings should be further studied to increase knowledge and awareness on the relationship