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Life Satisfaction and Cannabis Use: A Study on Young Adults

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Abstract

Cannabis is the illicit substance most used by young adults and adolescents in rich nations. Cannabis use may have negative consequences on mental and physical health and has been associated with low wellbeing indexes (i.e., life satisfaction). The present study aims to investigate the relationship of life satisfaction with cannabis use in young adults compared with personality and sociodemographic variables. Previous studies have found relationships between the Big Five traits and cannabis use as well as a gender gap. Males have been shown to have a higher consumption of cannabis than females. We conducted a survey by means of a self-report questionnaire on a sample of 600 young adults (average age 22.20 years) and performed a regression analysis to test the relationships of sociodemographic variables, personality, and life satisfaction with cannabis use. The results confirmed the gender gap and showed an association between cannabis use and conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness and life satisfaction. Life satisfaction was negatively related to cannabis use, which suggests that this behaviour may be motivated by coping with unsatisfactory life conditions.

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Notes

  1. Data on drug use in Europe are available on the website of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Via Verdi 10, 10124, Turin, Italy

    Stefano Tartaglia, Anna Miglietta & Silvia Gattino

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  1. Stefano Tartaglia
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  2. Anna Miglietta
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  3. Silvia Gattino
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Correspondence to Anna Miglietta.

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Tartaglia, S., Miglietta, A. & Gattino, S. Life Satisfaction and Cannabis Use: A Study on Young Adults. J Happiness Stud 18, 709–718 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-016-9742-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-016-9742-0

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