Posttraumatic stress and marijuana use coping motives: The mediating role of distress tolerance

Research highlights ▶ The present investigation examined the explanatory (i.e., mediating) role of distress tolerance in the relation between posttraumatic stress symptom severity and marijuana use coping motives, among a community-recruited sample. ▶ Results demonstrated that distress tolerance partially mediated the relation between posttraumatic stress symptom severity and coping-oriented marijuana use. ▶ These preliminary results suggest that distress tolerance may be an important cognitive-affective mechanism underlying the posttraumatic stress-marijuana use coping motives association. ▶ Theoretically, trauma-exposed marijuana users with greater posttraumatic stress symptom severity may use marijuana to cope with negative mood states, at least partially because of a lower perceived capacity to withstand emotional distress.