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The Association Between Cannabis Use and Perceived Social Support: the Mediating Role of Decreased Social Network

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Abstract

In recent years, accumulating evidence has pointed to the possible negative effects of cannabis use in social and interpersonal context. In this study, we explored the association between level of cannabis use and perceived social support and the extent to which social network size and diversity may mediate this association. Data from the NESARC-III was analyzed. Participants were either non-cannabis users (N = 32,523), using cannabis without qualifying for a diagnosis of cannabis use disorder (N = 2729), or qualifying for Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD; N = 972). Perceived social support was measured by the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List-12 and social network size and diversity were measured using the “Social Network Index.” Baron and Kenny’s statistical method was used for mediation analyses, with control for possible covariates and Bonferroni corrections applied. After controlling for covariates, social network size and diversity independently and fully mediated the association between level of cannabis use and general perceived social support (direct effect: b = −0.02, p = 0.0521, and b = −0.02, p = 0.057, respectively). According to these analyses, level of cannabis use was significantly associated with decreased social network size and diversity, which in turn were associated with lower perceived social support. Our findings highlight the need to address possible changes in social network among cannabis users.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Doctoral Program, Department of Psychology, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel

    Or Gliksberg

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA

    Ofir Livne

  3. Lev Hasharon Medical Center, Netanya, Israel

    Shaul Lev-Ran

  4. Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Shaul Lev-Ran

  5. Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada

    Shaul Lev-Ran & Jurgen Rehm

  6. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Jurgen Rehm

  7. Klinische Psychologie and Psychotherapie, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany

    Jurgen Rehm

  8. Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel

    Ilanit Hasson-Ohayon

  9. Department of Psychology, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel

    Daniel Feingold

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  1. Or Gliksberg
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  2. Ofir Livne
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Correspondence to Or Gliksberg.

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Ethical Approval

Protocols were approved by the institutional review boards of the National Institutes of Health and Westat (the contractor for the NESARC-III) (Grant et al., 2015; Hasin et al., 2015a). Data was obtained with permission from the American National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The US Census Bureau and the US Office of Budget and Management approved the NESARC protocol (Grant et al., 2014).

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Gliksberg, O., Livne, O., Lev-Ran, S. et al. The Association Between Cannabis Use and Perceived Social Support: the Mediating Role of Decreased Social Network. Int J Ment Health Addiction 20, 2799–2812 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-021-00549-4

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