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Is there a dose-response relationship between cannabis use and violence? A longitudinal study in individuals with severe mental disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

M. Beaudoin ,
L. Dellazizzo ,
S. Giguere ,
J.-P. Guay ,
C.-E. Giguere ,
S. Potvin  and
A. Dumais
M. Beaudoin*
Affiliation:
Psychiatry and addictology, University of Montreal Research Center, Institut universitaire en sante mentale de Montreal Faculty of Medicine, McGill University
L. Dellazizzo
Affiliation:
Psychiatry and addictology, University of Montreal Research Center, Institut universitaire en sante mentale de Montreal
S. Giguere
Affiliation:
Psychiatry and addictology, University of Montreal Research Center, Institut universitaire en sante mentale de Montreal
J.-P. Guay
Affiliation:
Research Center, Institut universitaire en sante mentale de Montreal Research Center, Institut national de psychiatrie légale Philippe-Pinel Criminology School, University of Montreal Centre international de criminologie comparée, Montreal, Canada
C.-E. Giguere
Affiliation:
Research Center, Institut universitaire en sante mentale de Montreal
S. Potvin
Affiliation:
Psychiatry and addictology, University of Montreal Research Center, Institut universitaire en sante mentale de Montreal
A. Dumais
Affiliation:
Psychiatry and addictology, University of Montreal Research Center, Institut universitaire en sante mentale de Montreal Research Center, Institut national de psychiatrie légale Philippe-Pinel
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Recent longitudinal studies point towards the existence of a positive relationship between cannabis use and violence in people with severe mental disorders. However, the existence of a dose-response relationship between the frequency and/or the severity of cannabis use and violence has seldom been investigated.

Objectives

This study aimed to determine if a dose-response relationship between cannabis use and violence exists in a psychiatric population.

Methods

This observational study was conducted at the Institut universitaire de santé mentale de Montréal (Montréal, Canada). A total of 98 outpatients (81 males and 17 females, all over 18 years of age) with severe mental disorders were included in the analyses. Clinical evaluations were conducted every 3 months for a year. Substance use, violent behaviors, and potential covariables were assessed through self-reported assessments, urinary testing, as well as clinical, criminal, and police records. Using generalized estimating equations, the association between cannabis use frequency (non-users, occasional, regular, and frequent users, assessed using the Time-Line Follow-Back and confirmed with urinary testing) and violence was investigated, as well as the association between the severity of cannabis use (measured using the Cannabis Use Problems Identification Test – CUPIT) and violent behaviors.

Results

Cannabis use frequency and severity were significant predictors of violent behaviors. After adjustment for time, age, sex, ethnicity, psychiatric diagnoses, impulsivity and use of alcohol and stimulants, odds ratios were of 1.91 (p <0.001) between each frequency profile, and 1.040 (p <0.001) for each increase of one point of the severity of cannabis use score (0 to 79).

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Conclusions

These findings have important implications for clinicians, demonstrating that cannabis use may have serious adverse consequences in a psychiatric population. Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 66 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 31st European Congress of Psychiatry , March 2023 , pp. S135 - S136
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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