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Objective: Emerging adulthood (18-25 years) is associated with peak prevalence of cannabis use. Although population-based longitudinal studies have found little change in cannabis use among emerging adults during COVID-19, research examining changes among vulnerable subgroups is lacking. The present study examined the association between emotion dysregulation at 23 years and change in cannabis use frequency and problem cannabis use among a large sample of emerging adults, from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic., Method: Longitudinal data were analyzed from 1,226 emerging adults (59% female; n = 738 reported cannabis use) who completed online surveys before the pandemic (2019; age 21) and 1 year into COVID-19 (2021; age 23) as part of the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development., Results: There was no significant overall within-person change in cannabis use outcomes during COVID-19 among the emerging adult sample. However, emotional clarity (a dimension of emotion dysregulation) at 23 years significantly moderated change in problem cannabis use during COVID-19. Namely, low emotional clarity at 23 years was associated with increased problem cannabis use ( B = 0.79, 95% CI [0.23, 1.34]), whereas high emotional clarity at 23 years was associated with decreased problem cannabis use ( B = -0.68, 95% CI [-1.27, -0.09]) during COVID-19, among men only., Conclusions: Findings highlight the need to consider changes in cannabis use during COVID-19 among emerging adults with elevated emotion dysregulation (and particularly, low emotional clarity among men) and reiterate the need for supports and targeted interventions to reduce cannabis use and decrease associated harms as society emerges from COVID-19.

Aims: Internalizing symptoms are theorized to lead to substance use (SU) via a tendency to use substances to cope with or self-medicate negative feelings and emotions; however, empirically, this association is mixed, pointing to the existence of moderating factors. The present study aimed to examine how self-, teacher-, and father-reported attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms (ADHD-HI) and sex, moderated the association between self-reported internalizing symptoms and SU, in early adolescence., Methods: Cross-sectional data obtained at 13 years of age, drawn from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (N = 1,424; 53 % female). Alcohol, cigarette, and cannabis use, and internalizing and ADHD-HI symptoms were assessed., Results: There was a significant three-way interaction between internalizing, ADHD-HI, and sex, for cigarette use, with Bayes factor (BF) indicating very strong evidence for an effect (BF = 48.40). While the three-way interaction for cannabis use did not reach statistical significance (self-report: p <.066; father-report: p <.053), BF indicated substantial evidence for an effect (self-report: BF = 3.54; father-report: BF = 9.08). Further analyses revealed internalizing was associated with cigarette and cannabis use only among females with high ADHD-HI symptoms (cigarette use: β = 0.15, SE = 0.04, 95 %CI [0.07, 0.22]; cannabis use (self-reported ADHD-HI): β = 0.14, SE = 0.06, 95 %CI [0.04, 0.25]; cannabis use (father-reported ADHD-HI): β = 0.21, SE = 0.10, 95 %CI [0.01, 0.41])., Conclusions: Findings aid in clarifying the inconsistent relationship between internalizing symptoms and SU among adolescent females by underscoring the moderating role of ADHD-HI. Further, findings also support a growing body of literature which highlights the need for both self- and adult-informants (i.e., teacher and parent) in assessing ADHD-HI symptoms in females., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Prospective research is needed to better-understand changes in substance use from before to during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, among emerging adults (18-25 years), a high-risk group for substance use., Method: N = 1,096 (weighted sample N = 1,080; 54% female) participants enrolled in the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, who completed prepandemic (2019; 21 years) and COVID-19 (mid-March to mid-June 2020) surveys. COVID-19-related and preexisting factors were examined as moderators of change in substance use., Results: Full sample analyses revealed decreased binge drinking ( p < .001, Bayes factor [BF] = 22, Cohen's f ² = 0.02), but no changes in alcohol and cannabis use. Stratified analyses revealed emerging adults who reported < monthly use prepandemic increased their alcohol use ( p < .001, BF > 150, f ² = 0.05) and binge drinking ( p < .001, BF = 27, f ² = 0.01), but not their cannabis use. Conversely, emerging adults who reported >monthly use prepandemic decreased their binge drinking ( p < .001, BF > 150, f ² = .12) and cannabis use ( p < .001, BF > 150, f ² = .06), but did not change their alcohol use frequency. Several factors moderated change in substance use, including employment loss ( p = .005, BF > 39, f ² = .03) and loneliness ( p = .018, BF > 150, f ² = .10) during COVID-19., Conclusions: Changes in alcohol and cannabis use frequency among emerging adults in the first 3 months of COVID-19 largely differed according to prepandemic substance use, COVID-19-related factors, and preexisting factors. While some youth with preexisting vulnerabilities (e.g., more frequent substance use prepandemic) remained stable or decreased their substance use during COVID-19, emerging adults who experienced employment loss, loneliness, and financial concerns during COVID-19 increased their substance use, highlighting the need for increased supports for vulnerable populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Background: Older adults (≥50 years) represent the fastest-growing population of people who use cannabis, potentially due to the increasing promotion of cannabis as medicine by dispensaries and cannabis websites. Given healthy aging and cannabis use are both associated with cognitive decline, it is important to establish the effects of cannabis on cognition in healthy aging., Objective: This systematic scoping review used preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines to critically examine the extent of literature on this topic and highlight areas for future research., Method: A search of six databases (PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Family and Society Studies Worldwide, and CINAHL) for articles published by September 2019, yielded 1,014 unique results., Results: Six articles reported findings for older populations (three human and three rodent studies), highlighting the paucity of research in this area. Human studies revealed largely null results, likely due to several methodological limitations. Better-controlled rodent studies indicate that the relationship between ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cognitive function in healthy aging depends on age and level of THC exposure. Extremely low doses of THC improved cognition in very old rodents. Somewhat higher chronic doses improved cognition in moderately aged rodents. No studies examined the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) or high-CBD cannabis on cognition., Conclusions: This systematic scoping review provides crucial, timely direction for future research on this emerging issue. Future research that combines neuroimaging and cognitive assessment would serve to advance understanding of the effects of age and quantity of THC and CBD on cognition in healthy aging., (Published by Oxford University Press 2020.)