Submission Type
Poster
Abstract
Emotion regulation is the process through which people influence the emotions they experience and express, including the timing of emotional expression and experience (Gross, 1998b). Emotion regulation difficulties are a well-documented risk factor for substance use and misuse. Attitudes have been shown to directly impact behavior, specifically when they relate directly to the goals driving behavior (Baumeister & Finkel, 2010). When experiencing difficult or intense emotions, one may shift their attitudes to align with emotion regulation goals. We hypothesize that cannabis attitudes mediate the relationship between emotion regulation abilities and cannabis frequency. Participants were students (N= 72) enrolled in a 100-level psychology course surveyed during the 2021-2022 academic year. Participants completed an online survey including the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-18 (Victor & Klonsky, 2016), the Daily Sessions, Frequency, Age of Onset, and Quantity of Cannabis Use Inventory (Cutler & Spradlin, 2017), and items assessing cannabis-related attitudes. Attitudes were assessed using 8 items, assessing affect (e.g. Cannabis makes me feel relaxed/angry). Preliminary findings suggest a positive correlation between cannabis use frequency and emotion regulation difficulties (r = 0.26, p < 0.01); emotion related difficulties and affective attitudes (r = -.21; p<0.005); and affective attitudes and cannabis use (r = -.59; p<0.001). Analyses use an indirect effects model to examine whether cannabis use attitudes explain the relationship between emotion regulation abilities and cannabis frequency. The findings of this research will contribute to knowledge about college students' emotion regulation abilities and attitudes, which inform cannabis-related behavior.
Recommended Citation
Kawola, Riley and Maddigan, Bridget, "149 - Cannabis Use Attitudes, Frequency, and Emotion Regulation in College Students" (2025). GREAT Day Posters. 36.
https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/great-day-symposium/great-day-2025/posters-2025/36
149 - Cannabis Use Attitudes, Frequency, and Emotion Regulation in College Students
Emotion regulation is the process through which people influence the emotions they experience and express, including the timing of emotional expression and experience (Gross, 1998b). Emotion regulation difficulties are a well-documented risk factor for substance use and misuse. Attitudes have been shown to directly impact behavior, specifically when they relate directly to the goals driving behavior (Baumeister & Finkel, 2010). When experiencing difficult or intense emotions, one may shift their attitudes to align with emotion regulation goals. We hypothesize that cannabis attitudes mediate the relationship between emotion regulation abilities and cannabis frequency. Participants were students (N= 72) enrolled in a 100-level psychology course surveyed during the 2021-2022 academic year. Participants completed an online survey including the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-18 (Victor & Klonsky, 2016), the Daily Sessions, Frequency, Age of Onset, and Quantity of Cannabis Use Inventory (Cutler & Spradlin, 2017), and items assessing cannabis-related attitudes. Attitudes were assessed using 8 items, assessing affect (e.g. Cannabis makes me feel relaxed/angry). Preliminary findings suggest a positive correlation between cannabis use frequency and emotion regulation difficulties (r = 0.26, p < 0.01); emotion related difficulties and affective attitudes (r = -.21; p<0.005); and affective attitudes and cannabis use (r = -.59; p<0.001). Analyses use an indirect effects model to examine whether cannabis use attitudes explain the relationship between emotion regulation abilities and cannabis frequency. The findings of this research will contribute to knowledge about college students' emotion regulation abilities and attitudes, which inform cannabis-related behavior.
Comments
Sponsored by Whitney Brown