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Objective Cannabis use can result in negative cannabis-related consequences (NCRC), particularly among individuals high in impulsivity and sensation seeking. Continued research is necessary to determine if these associations generalize to community adults with daily legal cannabis use. We hypothesized that impulsivity and sensation seeking would positively predict NCRC. Method Community adults ( N = 51) participated in a study measuring personality, cannabis use, and related outcomes, as part of a larger study. Two multiple regression models predicting NCRC were conducted: one for impulsivity facets and one for sensation seeking facets. Results Positive urgency was significantly negatively associated with NCRC. Risk seeking was significantly positively associated with NCRC. All other personality facets were not significantly associated with NCRC. Conclusions Associations between some personality facets and NCRC may differ among adults with daily legal cannabis use. Future research should continue to explore unique personality associations related to NCRC among individuals with daily use.

Given recent state legislation legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes and majority popular opinion favoring these laws, we developed the Protective Behavioral Strategies for Marijuana scale (PBSM) to identify strategies that may mitigate the harms related to marijuana use among those young people who choose to use the drug. In the current study, we expand on the initial exploratory study of the PBSM to further validate the measure with a large and geographically diverse sample (N = 2,117; 60% women, 30% non-White) of college students from 11 different universities across the United States. We sought to develop a psychometrically sound item bank for the PBSM and to create a short assessment form that minimizes respondent burden and time. Quantitative item analyses, including exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses with item response theory (IRT) and evaluation of differential item functioning (DIF), revealed an item bank of 36 items that was examined for unidimensionality and good content coverage, as well as a short form of 17 items that is free of bias in terms of gender (men versus women), race (White versus non-White), ethnicity (Hispanic versus non-Hispanic), and recreational marijuana use legal status (state recreational marijuana was legal for 25.5% of participants). We also provide a scoring table for easy transformation from sum scores to IRT scale scores. The PBSM item bank and short form associated strongly and negatively with past month marijuana use and consequences. The measure may be useful to researchers and clinicians conducting intervention and prevention programs with young adults.

Mindfulness-based approaches have been suggested as possible methods to treat moral injury in military personnel. However, empirical research has yet to evaluate if mindfulness acts as a protective factor for the possible negative effects of moral injury, such as alcohol use, drug use, or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. In this study, we investigated if five facets of mindfulness (i.e., observing, nonjudging, nonreactivity, awareness, and describing) moderated associations between moral injury and the outcomes of PTSD symptoms, alcohol misuse, and drug abuse symptoms in a sample of military personnel. Participants were 244 military personnel (the majority former military members) who had been deployed at least once during the Iraq War, War in Afghanistan, other wars, or humanitarian missions. The study results indicated that nonjudging, β = −.22, and awareness, β = −.25, had significant attenuating effects on the association between moral injury and drug abuse symptoms. However, observing, β = .17; nonreactivity, β = .23; and describing, β = .15, had significant synergistic effects (i.e., they strengthened the association between moral injury and drug abuse symptoms). There were no significant moderation effects on the associations between moral injury and PTSD symptoms or between moral injury and alcohol misuse. Our results provide initial evidence that not all facets of mindfulness may protect against the challenges of coping with moral injury. Directions for future research and implications for practice are discussed.

Sensation seeking and emotion dysregulation have been identified as contributing factors for consequences associated with cannabis use, although findings have been mixed. The study seeks to clarify relations between sensation seeking, emotion dysregulation, and cannabis-related consequences. Cannabis users ( N = 2,128) were assessed for facets of sensation seeking, emotion dysregulation, and cannabis-related consequences. Results revealed a positive association between risk seeking and cannabis-related consequences, as well as between emotion dysregulation and cannabis-related consequences. A negative association was observed between experience seeking and cannabis-related consequences. An interaction was found between emotion dysregulation and risk seeking. Risk seeking appears to be a risk factor for cannabis-related consequences at lower levels of emotion dysregulation. At high levels, the effect of emotion dysregulation superseded that of risk seeking. These findings have implications for the prioritization of clinical concerns in individuals seeking treatment for problematic cannabis use.