Trauma, Cannabis Use and Attenuated Psychotic Symptoms: A Mediation Model in the Uruguayan General Population
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background: At-risk mental states (ARMS), involving subclinical attenuated psychotic experiences, occur in the general population with persistence rates above 30%, and may substantially affect quality of life, well-being and global functioning. Cannabis use has been linked to the onset, persistence and intensity of attenuated psychotic symptoms, whereas other evidence identifies trauma as a mediating factor. This study examined the potential effect and degree of interaction of cannabis use patterns in a general population sample with a history of traumatic experiences during childhood and adolescence. Methods: A selective ex post facto cross-sectional survey design was used. Adults residing in Uruguay with no prior psychopathological diagnosis (n = 652, 66.3% women, M = 31.9 years, SD = 8.5) completed a controlled online survey assessing traumatic experiences, negative symptoms, aberrant salience, ideas of reference and cannabis use patterns. Results: Statistically significant correlations confirmed a dual interaction of traumatic experiences, and of the frequency and grams of cannabis used, on attenuated psychotic symptoms. Traumatic experiences explained R2 = .202 of the variance in attenuated psychotic symptomatology, more than the dose (R2 = .14) and frequency (R2 = .048) of cannabis use. Combining the trauma effect with both use-pattern effects yielded a model with better fit and greater explained variance (R2 = .252). Conclusions: Traumatic experiences during childhood and adolescence are positively associated with cannabis use and, to a greater extent, with attenuated psychotic symptoms (ARMS) such as ideas of reference, aberrant salience and negative symptoms, showing greater explanatory power than cannabis use.
Source: PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints)
Language: English
Subfield: Pharmacology (medical)
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7222075020