(PS4-A24) Hyperarousal Symptoms, Sleep Quality, and Cannabis Use Coping Motives Among Emerging Adults

Friday, November 18, 2022

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM EST

Location: Westside Ballroom, 5th Floor

Author(s)

Linda M. Thompson, M.A.

Doctoral Student
University of North Texas
Denton, Texas

Co-Author(s)

AL

Amber Ledesma, B.A.

Post-Baccalaureate Researcher
University of North Texas
Denton, Texas
FG

Francesca Gentea, None

Undergraduate Researcher
University of North Texas
Denton, Texas
MO

McKenna O'Banon, None

Undergraduate Researcher
University of North Texas
Denton, Texas
Banan Ramadan, M.S.

Doctoral Student
University of North Texas
Denton, Texas
HB

Heidemarie Blumenthal, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
University of North Texas
Denton, Texas

Previous research indicates that individuals with heightened posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity and sleep issues often use cannabis to cope (Bonn-Miller et al., 2010), a pattern of use consistently associated with use-related problems (Vandrey et al., 2014). Additionally, hyperarousal symptoms specifically may increase the likelihood of using cannabis to cope (Bonn-Miller et al., 2014). Notably, a large proportion of emerging adults not only report using cannabis (43-52%; Han et al., 2019; National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2020), but a significant number report doing so to alleviate negative affect, stress, and sleep problems (Walsh et al., 2013). However, limitations remain in understanding whether specific PTSD symptom clusters interact with sleep quality to predict cannabis use coping motives, especially among young/emerging adults. The purpose of the present study was to examine the moderating role of hyperarousal symptoms on the relation between sleep quality and cannabis use coping motives among emerging adults. Participants were 143 students (ages 18-25; 59.8% White; 71.4% women) recruited from a large state university as part of a broader study (N=1021). The current sample experienced at least one DSM-5 traumatic event and reported cannabis use within the past 30 days. Self-reported measures were used to assess total hyperarousal symptoms (LEC-5; Gray et al., 2004), global sleep quality (PSQI; Buysee et al., 1989), and cannabis coping motives (MMM; Lee et al., 2009). A moderation analysis using PROCESS macro-Model 1 for SPSS (Hayes, 2013) was used. All variables were mean-centered and an HC4 robust standard error was used to mitigate against heteroskedasticity (Hayes & Cai, 2007). Results indicated that worse global sleep quality was associated with greater cannabis coping motives (b = .40, SE = .18, t = 2.36, p = .020), though there was no main effect of total hyperarousal symptoms (p = .258). In the final model the variables accounted for approximately 11.1% of the variance in cannabis coping motives (F [3, 139], = 6.55, p < .01), and the interaction between global sleep quality and hyperarousal symptoms was significant (b = -.18, SE = .06, t = -2.86, p < .01). There was a significant, positive association between global sleep problems and cannabis coping motives for low (-1 SD below the mean; b = .80, SE = .24, t = 3.32, p < .01), and moderate (mean; b = .40, SE = .19, t = 2.36, p = .02) levels of hyperarousal symptoms, but not for high levels of hyperarousal symptoms. These results indicate that individuals who experience low to moderate levels of hyperarousal symptoms demonstrate increases in cannabis coping motives when sleep quality declines; however, individuals presenting with a greater number of hyperarousal symptoms generally display a consistent pattern between high usage of cannabis coping motives regardless of sleep quality. Future research should explore whether cannabis coping motives encompass management of sleep problems and/or emotion regulation more generally. More sophisticated assessments of sleep (e.g., sleep diaries) as well as longitudinal assessment of cannabis use, and hyperarousal symptomatology should be incorporated to better understand the temporal and causal nature of these factors.