Marijuana use episodes among couples who frequently use the drug increase the likelihood of experiencing intimacy events, according to the results of a UB-led study.
“We found robust support for these positive effects within two hours of when couples use marijuana together or in the presence of their partner,” says Maria Testa, senior research scientist in the Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, and the study’s lead author. “The findings were the same for both the male and female partners.”
The study’s definition of intimacy events included love, caring and support.
Testa, a social psychologist who has extensively studied the role of alcohol on partner aggression, says her idea for the current study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, arose from a lack of information about marijuana’s effects on relationships.
“I’ve studied alcohol as a predictor of intimate partner aggression for years,” she says. “Because alcohol is related to aggression in general, it’s not surprising to find that aggressive effect in the domain of relationships.
“But survey studies were consistently showing correlations between marijuana use and partner aggression, which didn’t fit with pop culture reports of relaxation and happiness that’s often associated with its use.”
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Marijuana use episodes linked to partner intimacy
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