Objective: A few studies have tested for negative reinforcement of alcohol and cannabis use at the daily level by examining changes in negative affect following substance use. However, changes in affect may not be perceived by participants or may not be attributed by participants to substance use. This study aimed to test whether using cannabis to cope with negative affect was associated with participants' perception that their negative affect was reduced by cannabis use (cannabis-contingent relief) and to determine whether this perceived relief predicted subsequent cannabis use.
Method: We used ecological momentary assessment data (two observations per day for 14 days) from 571 young adult females who regularly used cannabis, including an oversampling of sexual minority women and gender diverse individuals (77.6%).
Results: At the event-level, using cannabis to cope with negative affect was associated with experiencing perceived cannabis-contingent relief from negative affect, but only when motives and relief were reported in the same survey. Cannabis-contingent relief predicted an increased likelihood of using cannabis on the next day when anxious or depressed affect was elevated. When participants had experienced more cannabis-contingent relief during the ecological momentary assessment, they were more likely to use cannabis when they subsequently experienced depressed affect, but not if they had experienced less cannabis-contingent relief.
Conclusions: Findings were consistent with theories of negative reinforcement. Participants experienced relief from undesired states following cannabis use and this relief predicted a higher likelihood of using cannabis when these undesired states were experienced again, particularly when cannabis-contingent relief was experienced on the prior day. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
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