176 - Cannabis Use Modality and Emotion Regulation

Despite recreational cannabis use’s increase in popularity in recent years, there is a dearth of research on the commonality of cannabis use modalities. Additionally, emotion regulation is the ability to adequately respond to one’s emotional experiences, yet there is little research connecting emotion regulation and cannabis use modality. This study aims to assess the ways in which emotion regulation may be associated with cannabis use modality as measured by the Daily Sessions, Frequency, Age of Onset, and Quantity of Cannabis Use Inventory (DFAQ-CU; Cutler & Spradlin, 2017). Participants were SUNY Geneseo students (N = 70) studying psychology who completed an online survey of their cannabis use modality and emotion regulation strategies. Point biserial correlations were used to examine the relationship between the 18-item Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-18; Gratz & Roemer, 2004), its subscales, and four items on the DFAQ-CU. It was hypothesized that the overall DERS-18 scores as well as the goals, clarity, impulse, and strategy subscales would positively correlate with the items on cannabis use modality in the DFAQ-CU. Preliminary results suggest there are significant correlations between the modes of cannabis used (i.e., marijuana flower, concentrates, or edibles) and the goals, clarity, and strategy subscales of the DFAQ-CU. Future analyses will address whether individuals’ emotion regulation strategies influence multiple preferred modes of cannabis use.