Over 60% of Youth Who Vape Cannabis Report Psychological Distress

Youth who reported experiencing severe psychological distress were more likely to vape cannabis in the previous month than those who did not report psychological distress, according to areport in theAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine.“Some adolescents may use cannabis to regulate distress, and adolescence is an important developmental period for intervention as adolescents who use cannabis as a coping mechanism may go on to develop problematic use,” wrote lead author Delvon T. Mattingly, Ph.D., of the University of Kentucky and colleagues.The researchers looked at the association between cannabis vaping and psychological distress among 22,202 youth aged 11 to 18 years using data from the 2022National Youth Tobacco Survey. Students surveyed were categorized as having normal, mild, moderate, and severe psychological distress, based on their responses to the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4).A total of 1,629 youth (about 7.6% of those surveyed) reported having vaped cannabis in the previous 30 days. The breakdown of psychological distress in this group was as follows:22.9% reported severe psychological distress.17.5% reported moderate psychological distress.22.3% reported mild psychological distress.Of those surveyed who had not vaped cannabis in the past 30 days, 11.4% reported severe psychological distress, 13.0% reported moderate psychological distress, and 20.5% reported mild psychological distress.Adolescents who experienced severe psychological distress were ...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: adolescents American Journal of Preventive Medicine cannabis National Youth Tobacco Survey psychological distress vaping Source Type: research