Negative affectivity as a mechanism underlying perceived distress tolerance and cannabis use problems, barriers to cessation, and self-efficacy for quitting among urban cannabis users

Cannabis use rates continue to rise in the United States and currently cannabis is among the most widely used substances in the world. Cannabis use is associated with several mental health problems, low educational attainment, low income, and underemployment. The current study explored the tendency to experience negative affect (negative affectivity) as a factor accounting for the association between perceived distress tolerance and problems related to the use of cannabis. Participants included 203 urban adult daily cannabis users (29.2% female, M = 37.7 years, 63% African American). Results indicated that there was a significant indirect effect of distress tolerance via negative affectivity in terms of cannabis use problems (b = − 0.58, 95%CI [− 1.14, − 0.21]), cannabis withdrawal (b = − 0.65, 95%CI [− 1.36, − 0.21]), self-efficacy for quitting (b = − 0.83, 95%CI [− 1.85, − 0.22]), and perceived barriers for cannabis cessation (b = − 0.71, 95%CI [− 1.51, − 0.24]). The present data provide novel empirical evidence suggesting negative affectivity may help explain the relation between perceived distress tolerance and an array of clinically significant cannabis use processes. Intervention programming for daily cannabis users may benefit from targeting negative affectivity to facilitate change in cannabis use processes among users who tend to perceive that they are less capable of tolerating distress.