Trauma, Cannabis Use and Attenuated Psychotic Symptoms: A Mediation Model in the Uruguayan General Population
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.
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BibTeX
@misc{rodriguez2026trauma,
title = {{Trauma, Cannabis Use and Attenuated Psychotic Symptoms: A Mediation Model in the Uruguayan General Population}},
author = {Richard Rodriguez and Celia Ceballos-Munuera and Paul Ruiz and Juan F. Rodriguez-Testal and Álvaro Cabana},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/vc4us_v1},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/vc4us_v1/},
note = {CC0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Trauma, Cannabis Use and Attenuated Psychotic Symptoms: A Mediation Model in the Uruguayan General Population
AU - Richard Rodriguez
AU - Celia Ceballos-Munuera
AU - Paul Ruiz
AU - Juan F. Rodriguez-Testal
AU - Álvaro Cabana
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/vc4us_v1
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/vc4us_v1/
AB - 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.
ER -