Social Anxiety and Cannabis-Related Problems: The Role of Psychological Inflexibility.

Background: Social anxiety is associated with worse cannabis-related outcomes, but the mechanisms underlying this relation have been understudied. The present study tested whether psychological inflexibility indirectly accounts for the association between social anxiety and multiple cannabis-related outcomes (i.e., cannabis-related problems, perceived barriers for cannabis reduction or cessation, and coping-motivated cannabis use). Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected via an online survey from 143 undergraduates (77.6% female, Mage = 19.85, SDage=2.29) who reported cannabis use within the past three months. Results: Results indicated that social anxiety was positively associated with cannabis-related problems, perceived barriers to cannabis reduction or cessation, and coping-motivated cannabis use. These associations occurred indirectly via psychological inflexibility. In contrast, neither social anxiety nor psychological inflexibility was statistically significantly associated with cannabis use frequency. Conclusions: These findings suggest that psychological inflexibility may represent an important underlying process between social anxiety and maladaptive cannabis-related outcomes, particularly those reflecting problematic use patterns and coping-motivated use. Targeting psychological inflexibility may therefore be a promising intervention focus for individuals with elevated social anxiety who use cannabis.