Coping Motives to Use Cannabis: Associations With Emotion Regulation and Gender Among System-Involved Youth.

Jankovsky A.; Falcón A.; Moxley-Kelly N.; Marini Bowley V.; Stickle T. · Substance use & misuse · 2026

**Background & Methods** This study examined the relationship between emotion regulation (ER) difficulties and coping motives for cannabis use among system-involved adolescents, with investigation of gender differences. The research utilized self-report measures to assess how ER deficits relate to cannabis use motivations, particularly for emotional coping, among juvenile cannabis users. **Key Findings** • Juvenile girls reported significantly greater negative affect and stronger coping motives for cannabis use compared to boys, suggesting gender-based differences in emotional drivers of substance use. • Gender moderated the association between ER difficulties and coping motives; boys with higher-than-average emotion regulation difficulties were significantly more likely to endorse using cannabis to cope with negative emotions. • Emotion regulation was identified as a malleable risk factor associated with cannabis use motivations in system-involved youth, supporting the potential for targeted ER interventions to reduce problematic use and associated consequences. **Dosage & Administration** Not reported. **Safety & Adverse Effects** Not reported. **Evidence Quality** This review article provides limited direct evidence regarding intervention efficacy. The study relies entirely on self-report measures, which are subject to recall bias and social desirability bias, particularly among justice-system-involved youth who may underreport cannabis use or misrepresent motivations. The cross-sectional or observational nature of the data (as suggested by the abstract) limits causal inference regarding the directionality of associations between ER difficulties and coping motives. The paper does not appear to include a control group or comparison with non-system-involved youth, limiting generalizability. While the investigation of gender moderation strengthens the analysis, the findings are specific to system-involved adolescents and may not apply broadly to general youth populations. The authors' recommendation for emotion regulation interventions is based on theoretical association rather than demonstrated intervention outcomes. Additional prospective, controlled trials with objective measures and longitudinal follow-up would be needed to establish causal mechanisms and intervention effectiveness in reducing cannabis use and its consequences among high-risk youth.

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