A Day in the Life: A Daily Diary Examination of Marijuana Motives and Protective Behavioral Strategies Among College Student Marijuana Users

This study examined marijuana-use motives and protective behavioral strategies (PBS) as within- and between-subject predictors of marijuana-related outcomes. Furthermore, we explored differences between a specific marijuana-related event (i.e., 4/20) compared with typical weekend/weekday use. Forty-three college student marijuana users (31 females) completed daily surveys for 12 days (April 15-April 26, 2016). Four motives (coping, conformity, enhancement, and social) were associated with more negative consequences within-subjects. Enhancement and conformity motives were also associated with a higher number of use sessions, and expansion motives were associated with higher subjective high. Marijuana PBS use (total score) was associated with fewer sessions and lower subjective high within-subjects. Social motives were higher, whereas PBS use and coping motives were lower on 4/20 compared with other days. Our findings support PBS and certain use motives as promising intervention targets for college student marijuana users.