Open AccessEffects of anxiety sensitivity on cannabis, alcohol, and nicotine use among adolescents: evaluating pathways through anxiety, withdrawal symptoms, and coping motives
Author(s) -
Ashley A. Knapp,
Nicholas P. Allan,
Renee M. Cloutier,
Heidemarie Blumenthal,
Shahrzad Moradi,
Alan J. Budney,
Sarah Lord
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of behavioral medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.213
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1573-3521
pISSN - 0160-7715
DOI - 10.1007/s10865-020-00182-x
Subject(s) - anxiety sensitivity , health psychology , cannabis , anxiety , psychology , clinical psychology , nicotine , psychiatry , coping (psychology) , public health , medicine , nursing
Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a promising intervention target due to its relevance to negative health behaviors broadly, and substance use specifically. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the direct and indirect pathways through which elevated AS could relate to recent substance use among a national adolescent sample recruited via social-media. As predicted, AS was indirectly associated with greater likelihood of using alcohol, cigarettes, and electronic nicotine delivery systems in the past-month through anxiety symptoms. Regarding cannabis, AS was directly related to increased likelihood of past-month cannabis use; however, the indirect relation between AS and likelihood of past-month use via anxiety symptoms was not significant. Through chained indirect effects, AS was related positively to past-month alcohol and cannabis use via anxiety symptoms and coping-related motives, and through withdrawal symptoms and coping-related motives. Study findings can be used to generate hypotheses on potential pathways through which AS could prospectively relate to substance use among youth.