Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Date

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

James Whelan

Committee Member

Daniel McGrath

Committee Member

Deranda Lester

Committee Member

Gayle Beck

Abstract

Recent studies have reliably reported that cannabis use while gambling has been associated with increased gambling frequency, risking more money, and higher rates of positive screenings for gambling disorder. In the current study, we take the next step with a longitudinal approach, utilizing an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) method to track gambling behavior within individuals when they are and are not under the influence of cannabis. We hypothesized that individuals would engage in more potentially problematic gambling behavior (e.g. risking larger sums, gambling for longer periods, placing more bets) when they are under the influence of cannabis, compared to gambling without cannabis. Twenty-eight participants were included in the study and completed prompts twice a day reporting their gambling behavior and cannabis use over a two-week period. Within-subjects analysis of differences in gambling behavior found that individuals risked more money, gambled for longer periods of time, and placed more bets when under the influence of cannabis compared to when they were not under the influence of cannabis. This provides support for previous findings, while also giving more direct causal evidence that the acute effect of cannabis is related to more potentially harmful gambling behavior within an individual than could be demonstrated in previous cross-sectional retrospective survey studies.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest/Clarivate.

Notes

Open Access

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