Individuals with psychosis and a lifetime history of cannabis use show greater deficits in emotional experience compared to non-using peers

Abstract

Background: While previous research suggests that active cannabis use is a barrier to the emotional experiences of anticipating pleasure and expressing emotion in early psychosis, the relationship between lifetime cannabis use, emotional experience and social function over time has been understudied.

Aims: This study sought to characterize the influence of lifetime cannabis use on emotional experience in prolonged psychosis and the influence of the interaction of cannabis use and emotional expression on social function.

Methods: Emotional expression, experience of pleasure in the moment, anticipatory anhedonia and social functioning were measured concurrently using the Emotional Expressivity Scale (EES), Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS) and Social Functioning Scale (SFS), respectively. Participants were adults with schizophrenia either with (n = 35) or without (n = 36) a lifetime history of cannabis use.

Results: Compared to non-using participants, individuals with a history of cannabis use expressed lesser abilities to express emotion, were less likely to expect pleasure and had poorer social function. Cannabis use moderated the relationship between anticipatory pleasure and prosocial activities.

Conclusions: Lifetime cannabis use in schizophrenia may be associated with greater deficits in emotional expressivity, anticipation of pleasure and social function. Cannabis use may disrupt the relationship between anticipatory pleasure and social functioning.