Cannabis use frequency and use-related impairment among African-American and White users: the impact of cannabis use motives.
OBJECTIVE
Cannabis use motives are differentially related to cannabis-related impairment and coping motives appear to have the strongest relation to use-related impairment. However, it is currently unknown whether African-American individuals differ from White persons in reasons for using cannabis. It is also unknown whether motives' relations to cannabis use and related impairment vary as a function of race. The present study examined the role of race on cannabis use motives and tested whether motives' relations with cannabis use and related impairment differed by race.


METHODS
The sample consisted of 111 (67.6% non-Hispanic White, 32.4% African-American) current cannabis-using adults.


RESULTS
African-American participants did not significantly differ from White participants on cannabis use frequency or use-related impairment. African-American participants endorsed more social motives than White participants. Race interacted with social, coping, and conformity motives to predict cannabis-related impairment such that these motives were positively related to cannabis impairment among African-American, but not White, participants.


CONCLUSIONS
Although African-American and White participants do not differ in their cannabis use frequency or cannabis-related impairment, they appear to use cannabis for different reasons. Further, conformity, coping, and social motives were differentially associated with cannabis-related impairment as a function of race. Findings suggest motives for cannabis use should be contexualised in the context of race.
a Department of Psychology , Louisiana State University , 236 Audubon Hall, Baton Rouge , LA 70803 , USA.
Julia D
JD
Buckner
a Department of Psychology , Louisiana State University , 236 Audubon Hall, Baton Rouge , LA 70803 , USA.
Sonia M
SM
Shah
a Department of Psychology , Louisiana State University , 236 Audubon Hall, Baton Rouge , LA 70803 , USA.
Kimberlye E
KE
Dean
b Department of Psychology , University of Houston & University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center , 126 Heyne Building, Houston , TX 77204 , USA.
Michael J
MJ
Zvolensky
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D002188:Cannabis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008145:Louisiana / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
African-American; White American; cannabis; cannabis use motives; marijuana; social motives