Matching Items (4)
Filtering by
- Creators: School of Molecular Sciences
Description
High-potency cannabis concentrates, such as Butane Hash Oil (BHO), are becoming increasingly popular in the United States. It is important to identify risk factors that might distinguish BHO and marijuana (buds and flower of the cannabis plant) use of cannabis because there are consequences associated with BHO use that may not associated with marijuana use, due to the higher THC content of BHO as compared to marijuana. The goal of this study was to gain a better understanding of how two risk factors, sensation seeking and delay discounting, relate to young adult BHO use in order to guide the development of targeted prevention and intervention strategies. A sample of 1,086 college students were recruited to complete a survey about their health and behavior for course credit or extra credit. Participants who had used cannabis in the past year (33%, n=363) completed questions about their cannabis use, including their use of BHO and cannabis-related risk factors, as well as measures of sensation seeking and delay discounting. Of the past-year cannabis users with useable data (n=339), 45% (n=152) had used BHO in the past year. Sensation seeking was found to be associated with past-year BHO use after controlling for demographics, age of first cannabis use, and other substance use including binge drinking and illicit drug use other than cannabis (OR=1.55, p=0.040), however delay discounting was not (OR=0.92, p=0.334). There was no evidence of an interaction between sensation seeking and delay discounting. Longitudinal research is necessary to determine if cannabis users with high sensation seeking tend to seek out BHO and/or if BHO use increases risk for sensation seeking.
ContributorsDake, Alexandria Rose (Author) / Meier, Madeline H. (Thesis director) / Pardini, Dustin A. (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Marijuana is currently the mostly widely used illicit drug in the U.S., and has been for multiple decades (Johnston et. al., 2016). Despite a growing belief that marijuana use is not harmful, over 4 million Americans have met criteria for marijuana use disorders in the past year alone (CBHSQ, 2015). According to marijuana trajectory studies, about a third of marijuana users will end up quitting later in life, but some \u2014 such as those who meet criteria for dependence \u2014 have a much greater difficultly quitting. Therefore, by looking at marijuana users who were successful in quitting, and comparing them to ongoing adult marijuana users, factors that may assist in helping an individual quit \u2014 such as certain motivations for quitting \u2014 may be identified. To study these issues, data was collected from 507 participants from the Pittsburgh Youth Study. It was found that adolescents who used marijuana weekly for at least one year were likely to be ongoing marijuana users in adulthood and that adolescents who had a warm relationship with their primary caretaker were likely to have quit marijuana by adulthood. It was also found that Black participants were more likely to have legal, monetary, and religious reasons for quitting than were White participants. Furthermore, participants who used regularly in adolescence were likely to list legal reasons, as well as a concern that marijuana use was needed to feel normal. Finally, it was found that not a single motivation for quitting marijuana was associated with a shorter period of abstinence. The implications of these findings for motivations to quit marijuana are the focus of the discussion.
ContributorsGomez, Kira Elise (Author) / Pardini, Dustin (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Meier, Madeline (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
The need to fully understand the possible consequences of young-adult cannabis use has become increasingly critical as a result of major cannabis policy changes. The purpose of this study was to determine if young-adult users exhibit cognitive deficits on laboratory-based tests and memory and attention deficits in everyday life. Participants were 152 students from a large U.S. university enrolled in introductory psychology courses and the top and bottom 10% of the 12-item Yale University PRIME Screening Test for psychotic-like experiences. Participants were asked about their cannabis use and were given six cognitive tests spanning executive function and memory. To test functional impairment in memory and attention, participants were asked to nominate informants (people who knew them well) and these rated the participants on an attention problems scale of four items and a memory problems scale of three items. Results showed that individuals who used cannabis more frequently were rated as having more attention and memory problems and that, consistent with prior research, more frequent cannabis use was associated with worse memory test performance, though the association was not present between frequency of use and executive function test performance. Additionally, it was found that informant-reported attention problems were associated with poorer performance on two of the executive function cognitive tests. The present findings suggest that individuals who use cannabis more frequently experience noticeable memory and attention problems in everyday life, despite the lack of significant correlation between this functional impairment and cognitive test performance. Informant reports, therefore, may be useful in future research for understanding or predicting cognitive impairment in young adults.
ContributorsCarbajal, Lucia (Author) / Meier, Madeline (Thesis director) / McClure, Samuel (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This study was designed to learn what students call various forms of cannabis. A survey was created with questions designed to understand students' knowledge of types of cannabis, methods of use, and potency. An introduction and methods section of the research paper is included.
ContributorsCollins, Ryleigh Anne (Author) / Meier, Madeline (Thesis director) / Perez, Marisol (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05