DOES BIOLOGICAL SEX MODERATE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN POSITIVE/NEGATIVE AFFECT AND SIMULTANEOUS/CONCURRENT ALCOHOL AND MARIJUANA USE?

Purpose. 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.