Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Social anxiety disorder SAD is a debilitating psychiatric condition. Consequently, it is common for those affected to resort to cannabis to cope with their symptoms. The primary objective of this study was to understand the differences between motivations for cannabis use in adults with and without SAD.
We employed convergent, mixed methods to collect the data. Twenty-six individuals age: Cannabis weekly consumption was 3. The need to cope with symptoms of SAD may have been the driving force for repeated cannabis consumption.
Psychoeducational programs educating children about the risk of using cannabis to cope with SAD should be implemented in vocational settings early on. Keywords: social anxiety disorder SAD , social phobia SP , cannabis use, cannabis use disorder CUD , addictions, motivations, motivations for cannabis use, coping, concomitant psychiatric disorders.
Social anxiety disorder SAD is characterized by the intensive fear and avoidance of social situations [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. The risk period for onset of SAD ranges from mid-to-late adolescence to early 40s, worldwide [ 4 ].
Individuals with SAD experience functional and psychosocial impairments in several aspects of their daily life [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. They include lower levels of education, reduced employment rates, poor socioeconomic status, and lower quality of life [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Given the chronicity of SAD, its resistance to treatment, and its high comorbidity rates with other mental health disorders, including substance use, SAD poses a sizeable socioeconomic burden [ 2 , 3 , 5 ].
