(PS11-B40) Posttraumatic Cognitions Predict Cannabis Cravings Following a Trauma Imagery Procedure Among Trauma-exposed Cannabis Users

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity has been shown to be associated with coping-motivated cannabis use, a risk factor for developing cannabis use disorder (CUD). Consistent with the role of PTSD symptoms in motivating coping-oriented cannabis use, trauma cue procedures have been shown to increase cannabis cravings. One factor that may further impact cannabis use cravings to cope with PTSD symptoms is posttraumatic cognitions (negative cognitions about the self, self-blame, and negative cognitions about the world). These posttraumatic cognitions may increase distress related to trauma cues as well as perceived ability to cope with distress. This cross-sectional study tested the hypothesis that posttraumatic cognitions about the self would be the greatest predictor of cannabis cravings in response to a trauma driven imagery procedure among trauma-exposed cannabis users.This study sample consisted of 60 trauma-exposed cannabis users. Study participants (40% female; Mage = 20.52 years) were administered a semi-structured interview to determine PTSD diagnosis (SCID-5). Participants then completed a self-report measure for trait posttraumatic cognitions (PTCI) and cannabis use (CUDIT item 1). Then, participants completed a trauma script driven imagery procedure. Before and after this procedure, participants self-reported their state cravings to use cannabis to cope with negative emotions (MCQ - emotionality). Using 4 separate multiple regression analyses, we examined the association between posttraumatic cognitions, their subscales, and changes in cannabis cravings following a trauma script procedure controlling for PTSD diagnosis and cannabis use frequency. Results demonstrated that total posttraumatic cognitions were significantly associated with increased state cravings to use cannabis to cope with negative emotions (β=.19, t=2.32, p=.025, sr2=.03) after covarying for cannabis use frequency. Additional analyses revealed that only negative cognitions about the self were associated with increased state cannabis cravings (β=.19, t=2.34, p=.024, sr2=.03; other ps=.130-.176). To our knowledge, these findings are the first to demonstrate the association between types of posttraumatic cognitions and cannabis state cravings after trauma script-driven imagery. These findings show that trauma-exposed cannabis users with negative cognitions about the self may use cannabis to cope, raising risk for CUD. While this study presents initial evidence for trauma cues and cannabis cravings, future studies should investigate these associations in naturalistic environments outside of the laboratory setting. Pending replication of these results, findings highlight the potential importance of targeting negative posttraumatic cognitions related to the self in the treatment of CUD among trauma-exposed cannabis users.