General Public Health
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12503/30439
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Browsing General Public Health by Author "LoParco, Cassidy"
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Item DOES BIOLOGICAL SEX MODERATE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN POSITIVE/NEGATIVE AFFECT AND SIMULTANEOUS/CONCURRENT ALCOHOL AND MARIJUANA USE?(2021) LoParco, Cassidy; Zhou, Zhengyang; Seamster, Morgan; Litt, Dana M.; Lewis, MelissaPurpose. Using both alcohol and marijuana is risky, particularly when using both with overlapping effects. However, it is unclear how positive and negative affect are associated with simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use (SAM; using both with overlapping effect) and concurrent alcohol and marijuana use (CAM; defined in this study as using both substances in the past month without overlapping effect), and what role sex plays in these associations. Methods. Baseline data among past-year alcohol or marijuana users age 15–25 (N=417; mean age 21.2 (SD=2.7); 63.8% female) were used from a larger study. A logistic and an ordinal logistic regression model examined if sex moderated associations between positive/negative affect and past-month 1) CAM (yes/no) and 2) SAM use (ordinal categorical variable measuring occasions), respectively. Models controlled for age, sex, race, and ethnicity due to prior associations with outcomes. Results. Although the main effects of positive and negative affect were not associated with CAM or SAM use, the interactions suggest that with each increased unit of negative affect, males had a 7% (OR=1.07, 95% CI: 1.01–1.17) and 9% (OR=1.09, 95% CI: 1.01–1.17) higher odds of using CAM and higher level of SAM use, respectively. Females with higher levels of negative affect did not have higher odds of CAM or SAM use. Conclusions. Interventions aiming to decrease SAM/CAM use could target males who are experiencing high levels of negative affect. Future studies utilizing longitudinal data are needed to assess if causal associations between positive/negative affect, sex, and SAM/CAM use exist.Item EXAMINING ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN YOUNG ADULT ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND WILLINGNESS TO ENGAGE IN ALCOHOL, MARIJUANA, AND SIMULTANEOUS ALCOHOL AND MARIJUANA USE(2021) Seamster, Morgan; LoParco, Cassidy; Astorga, Angeles; Litt, Dana M.; Lewis, MelissaPurpose: Research indicates that young adults use alcohol and marijuana independently, or simultaneously (SAM; alcohol and marijuana use at the same time so that effects overlap) to cope with emotional distress (i.e., anxiety, depression). Given that behavioral willingness (i.e., openness) can be viewed as a predisposition to behavior, understanding mental health-related factors associated with willingness to engage in different types of substance use (i.e., alcohol, marijuana, SAM) may aid in identifying young adults at risk for harmful substance use. Methods: Participants ages 18-25 (N=363;60.1% female) completed baseline of a larger ecological momentary assessment study. Linear regression analyses controlling for age, gender, and past-month substance use examined associations between depressive and anxious distress and a willingness to engage in alcohol, marijuana, and SAM use. Results: Reports of higher depressive symptoms were associated with more willingness to use alcohol (B= 0.21, t = 2.85, p < .01) and engage in SAM use (B= 0.13, t = 2.25, p < .05). Anxious symptomology was associated with less willingness to use alcohol (B= -0.22, t = -2.99, p < .01), and more willingness to use marijuana (B= 0.15, t = 1.99, p < .05). Conclusions: Findings suggest that depressive and anxious distress are differentially associated with a willingness to engage in different types of substance use, depending on whether alcohol and marijuana are used independently or simultaneously. Therefore, targeted intervention strategies for young adults with depressive or anxious symptoms through early identification of willingness cognitions could prevent harmful substance use.