Solitary Cannabis Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Associations with Affect, Social Factors, and Pandemic-Related Stress
Authors: Wedel Amelia , Park Aesoon 
Published: March 2022

Introduction: Emerging evidence suggests that cannabis use has increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many cannabis users report using at a greater frequency and attribute this change in part to a desire to cope with changes to mental health (e.g., depression, social anxiety) and stress associated with the pandemic. Despite increases in social isolation due to quarantine and social-distancing requirements, little is known about how the social context of cannabis use (i.e., how much cannabis use is conducted with others vs. alone) may be associated with affective and social factors as well as cannabis-related consequences. This cross-sectional study explored associations of solitary cannabis use frequency with depression, social anxiety, loneliness, interpersonal sensitivity, pandemic-related stress, and cannabis use consequences. Method: Participants (N = 168; 53% female, mean age = 18.71 [SD = 0.99]; 67% White, 11% Hispanic/Latinx) were college students who reported lifetime cannabis use. Participants completed a single-wave online survey assessing solitary and overall cannabis use frequency, depression, social anxiety, loneliness, interpersonal sensitivity, pandemic-related stress, and cannabis consequences. First, independent-samples t-tests and zero-inflated negative binomial regression were used to explore associations of at-least monthly solitary (vs. exclusively or majority social use) cannabis use with proposed correlates and cannabis use consequences, respectively. Second, all affective factors were entered into a multinomial logistic regression predicting past-year (but no past-month) and past-month solitary cannabis use (with no past-year solitary use as reference). Age and sex were controlled for given prior associations with solitary cannabis use and cannabis use consequences. Results: Compared to exclusively or predominantly social use, past-month solitary cannabis use was independently associated with greater depression (t[166]=2.49, Cohen’s d=0.41), interpersonal sensitivity (t[166]=3.09, Cohen’s d=0.51), pandemic-related stress (t[166]=3.95, d=0.67), and cannabis use consequences (IRR=2.28, <.001). Results from the multinomial regression showed that male sex (OR=3.48, p=.032) and greater pandemic-related stress (OR=1.41, p=.001) were associated with higher odds of past-year solitary use, while male sex (OR=2.98, p=.016), greater interpersonal sensitivity (OR=1.12, p=.044), and greater pandemic stress (OR=1.34, p<.001) was associated with higher odds of past-month solitary use. Conclusion: Findings expand upon pre-pandemic findings that solitary cannabis use is associated with social anxiety and cannabis use consequences, and further emphasize associations of frequent solitary cannabis use with greater cannabis consequences. Findings further implicate interpersonal sensitivity and pandemic-related stress as risk factors for higher frequency solitary cannabis use. Taken together, findings suggest a) screening for solitary use may have utility for identifying higher-risk users among college students and b) individuals who use cannabis alone may benefit from treatment targeting concurrent issues with stress management and interpersonal sensitivity.