Correlates of cannabis vape-pen use and knowledge among U.S. college students.

Addictive Behaviors Reports 7 (2018) 32–39 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Addictive Behaviors Reports journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/abrep Correlates of cannabis vape-pen use and knowledge among U.S. college students T ⁎ Tessa Frohea, , Robert F. Leemana,b, Julie Patock-Peckhamc, Anthony Eckerd,e, Shane Krausf, Dawn W. Fosterb a University of Florida, Department of Health Education and Behavior, College of Health and Human Performance, P.O. Box 118210, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, 300 George St., Suite 901, New Haven, CT 06511, USA c Arizona State University, Department of Psychology, 950 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, AZ 85287, PO Box 871104, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104, USA d South Central MIRECC, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, 2002 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX 77030, USA e Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Medical Center, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA f VISN 1 New England MIRECC, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA, USA b A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Keywords: Marijuana Vaporizer College students Substance use Attitudes Cannabis Introduction: The proliferation of electronic devices, such as vape-pens, has provided alternative means for cannabis use. Research has found cannabis-vaping (i.e., vape-pen use) is associated with lower perceived risks and higher cannabis use. Knowledge of these products may increase likelihood of subsequent use. As policies for cannabis shift, beliefs that peers and family approve of this substance use (injunctive norms) increase and there has been an increase in vape-pen use among young adults (18–35 year olds); however, correlates thereof remain unknown. Young adults often engage in cross-substance use with cannabis and alcohol, making alcohol a potential correlate of cannabis vape-pen use and knowledge. Therefore, we examined alcohol use and other potential correlates of vape-pen use and knowledge among a sample of university students. Methods: This secondary data analysis utilized surveys at multiple colleges in the U.S. (N = 270). Alcohol use, social anxiety, cannabis expectancies, injunctive and descriptive norms and facets of impulsivity were examined as correlates of vape-pen use and knowledge using bivariate correlations and logistic regressions. Results: Alcohol use was correlated with cannabis vape-pen use and knowledge. Frequency of cannabis use, peer injunctive norms, and positive expectancies were associated with increased likelihood of vape-pen use. Lack of premeditation, a facet of impulsivity, was associated with cannabis vape-pen knowledge. Conclusions: Given the unknown nature and consequences of cannabis vape-pens, the present findings offer valuable information on correlates of this behavior. Further, correlates of knowledge of vape-pens may point to areas for education and clinical intervention to prevent heavy cannabis vape-pen use. 1. Introduction Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit substance in the United States (U.S.) (SAMHSA, 2014) and is increasing among young adults (18–25 year olds; Gaher & Simons, 2007; Phillips, Phillips, Lalonde, & Tormohlen, 2015; SAMHSA, 2014). As use increases, perceptions of cannabis use may become more favorable (Buckner, 2013) with lower perceived risks (Budney, Sargent, & Lee, 2015). Perceived risk influences behavior change, and may be fostered by knowledge and personal beliefs (Ryan, 2009). The Integrated Behavioral Model (IBM; Montaño & Kasprzyk, 2015) is an extension of the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1977; Janz & Becker, 1984; Rosenstock, 1974). These theories emphasize the importance of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control as having direct influence over one's intentions to perform a behavior. The IBM utilizes these constructs but adds knowledge and personal beliefs as key constructs in predicting if someone will carry out a behavior or not. Specifically knowledge is theorized to affect an individual's behavior directly (i.e. salience of behavior, environment, habit, and knowledge; Jaccard, Dodge, & Dittus, 2002). The IBM posits that even if one has a strong intention, they still need the requisite knowledge in order to carry out a behavior (Montaño & Kasprzyk, 2015). As new cannabis routes of administration emerge, it is important to ⁎ Corresponding author at: University of Florida, Department of Health Education and Behavior, College of Health and Human Performance, P.O. Box 118210, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA. E-mail address: tfrohe@ufl.edu (T. Frohe). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2017.11.004 Received 11 June 2017; Received in revised form 16 November 2017; Accepted 16 November 2017 Available online 21 November 2017 2352-8532/ © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/). Addictive Behaviors Reports 7 (2018) 32–39 T. Frohe et al. 2.2. Normative beliefs examine how knowledge of these methods may foster use (Farrell, 2001; Ryan, 2009). Knowledge of cannabis products has not been consistently shown to increase overall use, however it has been linked to increasing positive attitudes towards the substance, which can then lead to increased substance use (Farrell, 2001). Prior research, although concerning electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) for nicotine rather than cannabis, explains that many young adults will likely try new technologies to administer substances. Specifically, as e-cigarette technology improves for nicotine, these same devices provide alternative means for cannabis use, such as through a cannabis vape-pen (Brown & Cheng, 2014; Giroud et al., 2015). Given that simply knowing about a device or a new way to use a substance (i.e. cannabis vape-pens) may affect an individual's behavior, as theorized by the IBM, examining knowledge of cannabis vape-pen use may offer valuable insight to possible risk factors for subsequent use, and means of potential behavior change. Several common portable electronic devices are used for vaping cannabis (i.e., “vape-pens”). These devices are commercially available and the most popular design resembles e-cigarettes (Brown & Cheng, 2014; Lee, Crosier, Borodovsky, Sargent, & Budney, 2016). Given lack of regulation, varying devices, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) potencies of products, components within the vapor produced by cannabis vape-pens are not well understood and gauging how much THC is administered can be difficult (Cranford, Bohnert, Perron, Bourque, & Ilgen, 2016; Douglas et al., 2015; Giroud et al., 2015). However, vapepens are potentially appealing to cannabis users because of their less detectable odor and perception of reduced negative health effects compared to smoking cannabis (Budney et al., 2015; Etter, 2015; Johnson et al., 2016; Malouff, Rooke, & Copeland, 2014). U.S. national surveys have found b (...truncated)