Cannabis withdrawal predicts severity of cannabis involvement at 1-year follow-up among treated adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
Controversy exists regarding the inclusion of cannabis withdrawal as an indicator of dependence in the next revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and International Classification of Diseases (ICD). This study contrasted the concurrent and predictive validity of three operational definitions of cannabis withdrawal in a sample of treated adolescents.


METHODS
Prospective study of treated adolescents with 1-year follow-up.


METHODS
Adolescents (n=214) were recruited from intensive out-patient treatment programs for substance abuse, and followed at 1 year (92% retention). Youth who were included in the analyses reported regular cannabis use.


METHODS
The number of DSM-IV cannabis abuse and dependence symptoms at baseline and 1-year follow-up, past year frequency of cannabis use at baseline and follow-up, and periods of abstinence at 1-year follow-up. Cannabis withdrawal was defined based on (i) the presence of two or more cannabis withdrawal symptoms; (ii) a definition proposed by Budney and colleagues (2006) that requires four or more withdrawal symptoms (four-symptom definition); and (iii) the use of latent class analysis to identify subgroups with similar cannabis withdrawal symptom profiles.


CONCLUSIONS
All three definitions of cannabis withdrawal demonstrated some concurrent validity. Only the four-symptom and latent class-derived definitions of withdrawal predicted severity of cannabis-related problems at 1-year follow-up. No cannabis withdrawal definition predicted frequency of use at follow-up. Further research is needed to determine the clinical utility and validity of the four-symptom definition, as well as alternative definitions of cannabis withdrawal, to inform revisions leading to DSM-V and ICD-11.
Chung
Tammy
T
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. chungta@upmc.edu
Martin
Christopher S
CS
Cornelius
Jack R
JR
Clark
Duncan B
DB
D000293:Adolescent; D002188:Cannabis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000592:standards*; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology*