Do marijuana use motives matter? Meta-analytic associations with marijuana use frequency and problems. 2019

Konrad Bresin, and Yara Mekawi
Georgia State University, Department of Psychology, USA. Electronic address: Konrad.Bresin@gmail.com.

As laws expanding the accessibility of marijuana proliferate, it is increasingly important to understand how various motivations for use are differentially associated with marijuana use (e.g., frequency, quantity) and problems associated with marijuana use (e.g., reduced productivity, relationship conflict, legal issues). We conducted a meta-analytic review (k = 48, N = 11,274) of the zero-order and partial association between five marijuana use motives (i.e., coping, enhancement, social, conformity, and expansion) and a range of marijuana use outcomes (e.g., use frequency, problematic use). For marijuana use frequency zero-order correlations, we found significant positive correlations for coping, enhancement, social, and expansion, but not conformity. For marijuana use problems zero-order correlations, we found significant positive correlations for all five motives. When adjusting for the other motives, only coping, enhancement, and expansion were significantly positively associated with marijuana use frequency, and conformity was significantly negatively related to marijuana use frequency. For marijuana use problems, only coping and conformity had significant positive correlations. These results show that marijuana use motives are an important part of understanding the frequency of marijuana use and the development of marijuana use problems. These results may have implications for intervention development and public policy.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D009042 Motivation Those factors which cause an organism to behave or act in either a goal-seeking or satisfying manner. They may be influenced by physiological drives or by external stimuli. Incentives,Disincentives,Expectations,Disincentive,Expectation,Incentive,Motivations
D002189 Marijuana Abuse Use of marijuana associated with abnormal psychological, social, and or occupational functioning. Cannabis Abuse,Cannabis Dependence,Cannabis-Related Disorder,Hashish Abuse,Marijuana Dependence,Marihuana Abuse,Abuse, Cannabis,Abuse, Hashish,Abuse, Marihuana,Abuse, Marijuana,Cannabis Related Disorder,Dependence, Cannabis,Dependence, Marijuana,Disorder, Cannabis-Related
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000074609 Marijuana Use Medicinal or recreational utilization of MARIJUANA. Marijuana-Related Disorder,Recreational Marijuana Use,Disorder, Marijuana-Related,Disorders, Marijuana-Related,Marijuana Related Disorder,Marijuana Use, Recreational,Marijuana Uses,Marijuana Uses, Recreational,Marijuana-Related Disorders,Recreational Marijuana Uses,Use, Marijuana,Use, Recreational Marijuana,Uses, Marijuana,Uses, Recreational Marijuana
D000223 Adaptation, Psychological A state of harmony between internal needs and external demands and the processes used in achieving this condition. (From APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed). Behavior, Adaptive,Healthy Adaptation,Positive Adaptation,Psychological Recovery,Adaptation, Psychologic,Adjustment,Psychological Adaptation,Adaptation, Healthy,Adaptation, Positive,Adaptive Behavior,Adaptive Behaviors,Healthy Adaptations,Positive Adaptations,Psychologic Adaptation,Psychological Recoveries,Recovery, Psychological
D012919 Social Behavior Any behavior caused by or affecting another individual or group usually of the same species. Sociality,Behavior, Social,Behaviors, Social,Social Behaviors
D012925 Social Conformity Behavioral or attitudinal compliance with recognized social patterns or standards. Conformity, Social,Conformities, Social,Social Conformities

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