a School of Graduate Psychology , Pacific University , Hillsboro , OR , USA.
Subst Use Misuse. 2019;54(8):1309-1318. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2019.1575421. Epub 2019 Feb 15.
In the general population, significant relations have been shown between experienced trauma and cannabis use. Approximately three out of four college students report experiencing at least one-lifetime traumatic event, putting them at greater risk for developing substance use disorder (SUD), and college students report using cannabis to cope with negative effect and stress. However, PTSD symptom severity predicting cannabis use in the college population has not been investigated.
This cross-sectional survey study investigated the relation between PTSD symptom severity and cannabis use, and explored the moderating effect of gender on this relation, using a non-directional, exploratory analysis, in a sample of college students (N = 536; 68% female). Due to excessive zero values in the primary outcome, a zero-inflated negative binomial regression model was used.
Gender predicted number of cannabis using days [incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 2.17; 95%CI = 1.41, 3.35; p < .001]. The probability of being a cannabis user was moderated by gender [odds ratio (OR) = 0.96; 95%CI= 0.93, 0.99; p = .026], such that for males, as PTSD symptom severity increased, likelihood of being a cannabis user increased. This relation was not supported in females, however. Conclusion/Implication: Discussion includes the potential role of the endocannabinoid system, social norms, and motives in gender differences in PTSD-related cannabis use, and explores the self-medication hypothesis in this context.
在普通人群中，经历过的创伤与大麻使用之间存在显著关系。大约四分之三的大学生报告至少经历过一次创伤性事件，这使他们更有可能患上物质使用障碍（SUD），而大学生报告使用大麻来应对负面情绪和压力。然而，创伤后应激障碍症状严重程度对大学生群体中大麻使用的预测作用尚未得到研究。
本横断面调查研究调查了创伤后应激障碍症状严重程度与大麻使用之间的关系，并使用非定向、探索性分析，在大学生样本中（N=536；68%为女性）探讨了性别对这种关系的调节作用。由于主要结果的零值过多，使用了零膨胀负二项回归模型。
性别预测大麻使用天数[发病率比（IRR）=2.17；95%CI=1.41, 3.35；p<0.001]。性别的概率被调节大麻使用者[优势比（OR）=0.96；95%CI=0.93, 0.99；p=0.026]，即对于男性，随着创伤后应激障碍症状严重程度的增加，成为大麻使用者的可能性增加。然而，这一关系在女性中并不支持。结论/意义：讨论包括内源性大麻素系统、社会规范和动机在 PTSD 相关大麻使用中的性别差异中的潜在作用，并在这种情况下探讨了自我药物治疗假说。
