Testing the biosocial cognitive model of substance use in cannabis users referred to treatment
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Author(s)
Papinczak, Zoe E
Connor, Jason P
Feeney, Gerald FX
Harnett, Paul
Youn, Ross McD
Gullo, Matthew J
Year published
2019
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Background: The bioSocial Cognitive Theory (bSCT) hypothesizes two pathways linking dimensions of impulsivity to substance use. The first predicts that the association between reward sensitivity and substance use is mediated by positive outcome expectancies. The second predicts that the relationship between rash impulsiveness and substance use is mediated by refusal self-efficacy. This model has received empirical support in studies of alcohol use. The present research provides the first application of bSCT to a cannabis treatment population and aims to extend its utility to understanding cannabis use and severity of dependence. ...
View more >Background: The bioSocial Cognitive Theory (bSCT) hypothesizes two pathways linking dimensions of impulsivity to substance use. The first predicts that the association between reward sensitivity and substance use is mediated by positive outcome expectancies. The second predicts that the relationship between rash impulsiveness and substance use is mediated by refusal self-efficacy. This model has received empirical support in studies of alcohol use. The present research provides the first application of bSCT to a cannabis treatment population and aims to extend its utility to understanding cannabis use and severity of dependence. Design: 273 patients referred for cannabis treatment completed a clinical assessment that contained measures of interest. Setting: A public hospital alcohol and drug clinic. Measurements: The Sensitivity to Reward Scale, Dysfunctional Impulsivity Scale, Cannabis Expectancy Questionnaire, Cannabis Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire and Severity of Dependence Scale–Cannabis were completed, along with measures of cannabis consumption. Findings: The bSCT model provided a good fit to the data for cannabis use and severity of dependence outcomes. The association between reward sensitivity and each cannabis outcome was fully mediated by positive cannabis expectancies and cannabis refusal self-efficacy. The relationship between rash impulsiveness and each cannabis outcome was fully mediated by cannabis refusal self-efficacy. Conclusions: Findings support the application of the bSCT model to cannabis use and dependence severity and highlight the important role of social cognitive mechanisms in understanding the association between impulsivity traits and these outcomes. The differential association of impulsivity traits to social cognition may assist targeted treatment efforts.
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View more >Background: The bioSocial Cognitive Theory (bSCT) hypothesizes two pathways linking dimensions of impulsivity to substance use. The first predicts that the association between reward sensitivity and substance use is mediated by positive outcome expectancies. The second predicts that the relationship between rash impulsiveness and substance use is mediated by refusal self-efficacy. This model has received empirical support in studies of alcohol use. The present research provides the first application of bSCT to a cannabis treatment population and aims to extend its utility to understanding cannabis use and severity of dependence. Design: 273 patients referred for cannabis treatment completed a clinical assessment that contained measures of interest. Setting: A public hospital alcohol and drug clinic. Measurements: The Sensitivity to Reward Scale, Dysfunctional Impulsivity Scale, Cannabis Expectancy Questionnaire, Cannabis Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire and Severity of Dependence Scale–Cannabis were completed, along with measures of cannabis consumption. Findings: The bSCT model provided a good fit to the data for cannabis use and severity of dependence outcomes. The association between reward sensitivity and each cannabis outcome was fully mediated by positive cannabis expectancies and cannabis refusal self-efficacy. The relationship between rash impulsiveness and each cannabis outcome was fully mediated by cannabis refusal self-efficacy. Conclusions: Findings support the application of the bSCT model to cannabis use and dependence severity and highlight the important role of social cognitive mechanisms in understanding the association between impulsivity traits and these outcomes. The differential association of impulsivity traits to social cognition may assist targeted treatment efforts.
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Journal Title
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Volume
194
Copyright Statement
© 2019 Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence, which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, providing that the work is properly cited.
Subject
Biomedical and clinical sciences
Psychology
Biochemistry and cell biology
Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences
Epidemiology
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Substance Abuse
Psychiatry
Cannabis