General anxiety disorder symptoms, tension reduction, and marijuana use among young adult females

Background: The current study tested the hypothesis that tension reduction expectancies mediate the relationship between anxiety symptoms and marijuana use. Methods: Interview data for 332 young adult females from Southern New England were collected from 2004 to 2009. Results: In structural equation modeling, anxiety symptoms had a significant direct effect (b _yx?=?0.227, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.086-0.369, p?<?0.05) on tension reduction expectancies and a significant indirect effect (b _yx?=?0.026, 95% CI 0.010-0.046, p?<?0.05) on marijuana use. Conclusions: The effect of anxiety symptoms on marijuana use was fully mediated by tension reduction expectancies. Implications for tension reduction as a possible component of treatment interventions are discussed.