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Moderating effects of sensitivity to punishment and sensitivity to reward on associations between marijuana effect expectancies and use.

Simons JS, Arens AM

Department of Psychology, The University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD 57069, USA. jsimons@usd.edu

The study examined associations between sensitivity to reward (SR), sensitivity to punishment (SP), positive and negative expectancies, and marijuana use in a college sample (N = 809). Marijuana users (n = 227) reported lower SP and greater SR than nonusers. SR attenuated the association between SP and the probability of marijuana use. SP attenuated the association between positive expectancies and the probability of marijuana use as well as the frequency of use among users. SP potentiated the association between negative expectancies and use. The results indicate that SP and SR have interactive effects and that SP moderates the strength of positive and negative cues for risk behavior.

Published 18 September 2007 in Psychol Addict Behav, 21(3): 409-14.
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