Associations of anxiety sensitivity and emotional symptoms with the subjective effects of alcohol, cigarettes, and cannabis in adolescents

- Anxiety sensitivity associated with more positive and negative cannabis effects.
- Depressive symptoms (DS) associated with more negative cannabis effects.
- DS associated with fewer negative cigarette effects.
- DS associated with fewer increases in positive alcohol effects over time.
- Anxiety associated with fewer increases in positive cannabis effects over time.

Maladaptive emotional traits (anxiety sensitivity [AS], fear of anxiety-related sensations and consequences) and symptoms (major depressive disorder [MDD] and generalized anxiety disorder [GAD] symptoms) could play a role in altering sensitivity to the subjective effects of drugs of abuse in adolescents. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of high school students in Los Angeles, CA, USA who completed surveys and reported past six-month use of alcohol (n = 1054), cigarettes (n = 297), or cannabis (n = 706). At each of the four semi-annual waves during mid-adolescence (14-16 years old), students reported positive and negative subjective drug effects experienced in the prior six-months. Controlling for covariates and the simultaneous covariance across the three domains of emotional dysfunction, AS was associated with more positive and negative cannabis effects (βs = 0.09-0.16, ps < 0.05), and MDD symptoms were associated with fewer negative cigarette effects (β = − 0.13, p = 0.04) and more negative cannabis effects (β = 0.10, p = 0.004). The acceleration of positive alcohol and cannabis effects over time was slower among adolescents with higher baseline MDD (MDD × time: β = − 0.04, p = 0.044) and GAD (GAD × time: β = − 0.05, p = 0.03) symptoms, respectively. These findings suggest that emotional dysfunction factors show differential and overlapping effects on subjective drug effects, which may vary across time. Future research should investigate emotional dysfunctions and subjective drug effects in relation to substance use across adolescence and emerging adulthood.