Cannabis, Decision-Making, and Online Assistance Seeking

Decisional style, sleepiness, and online responsiveness

As sleep problems can impair quality of work, an online questionnaire was used to examine relationships between sleepiness and decision making while obtaining unobtrusive indices of performance. Participants (N = 344) completed the Insomnia Severity Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire in a Qualtrics survey while reporting mobile phone use. Qualtrics recorded the time and the number of clicks required to complete each page of the survey. Multiple regression indicated that insomnia was associated with daytime sleepiness and Hypervigilance, and mobile phone use before bed. Participants with moderate sleepiness required a greater number of clicks to complete the questionnaire. Greater sleepiness was associated with longer times to complete these self-assessment tasks. Clinically significant sleepiness produces changes in performance that can be detected from online responsivity. As sleepy individuals can be appreciably and quantitatively slower in performing subjective self-assessment tasks, this argues for objective measures of sleepiness and automated interventions and the design of systems that allow better quality sleep.Practitioner summary: Work can require processing of electronic messages, but 24/7 accessibility increases workload, causes fatigue and potentially creates security risks. Although most studies use people's self-reports, this study monitors time and clicks required to complete self-assessment rating scales. Sleepiness affected online responsivity, decreasing online accuracy and increasing response times and hypervigilance.

Decision-making styles, magical thinking, and intolerance of uncertainty in opioid use disorder

Background

The global opioid use problem presents a complex public health challenge characterized by increasing overdoses, addiction rates, and fatalities. Personal factors such as cognitive traits, distress tolerance, and decision-making styles play a crucial role in influencing opioid use trajectories.

Aim

This study aimed to investigate decision-making styles, magical ideation, and intolerance of uncertainty among current and past opioid users and healthy controls to contribute to the literature on opioid use disorder.

Methods

Three groups were involved: current opioid users (n = 94), past opioid users (n = 93), and healthy controls (n = 100). Participants completed self-report scales assessing magical ideation, intolerance of uncertainty, and decision-making styles. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression.

Results

Current opioid users exhibited lower vigilance decision-making styles and higher magical ideation scores than past users and controls. Decisional self-esteem correlated positively with vigilant decision-making in current and past opioid users. Magical ideation scores correlated positively with maladaptive decision-making styles across all groups. Intolerance of uncertainty did not differ significantly between groups.

Conclusions

This study emphasizes that decision-making styles and magical thinking might have significant roles in opioid use disorder. These results contribute valuable insights to tailor interventions and support systems for individuals struggling with opioid use disorder.

Remote detection of Cannabis-related impairments in performance?

RATIONALE

Researchers have traditionally studied the effects of psychoactive drugs such as Cannabis in controlled laboratory settings or relied on retrospective self-reports to measure impairment. However, advances in technology afford opportunities to conduct assessments remotely.

OBJECTIVES

We considered whether objective click-stream data (time and number of clicks spent on a webpage) during an online survey could supplement self-reports of substance use problems.

METHODS

The clickstream data of participants (n = 236) were examined as they completed an online study which included validated psychometric tests (Cannabis Use Disorders Identification Test-Revised, Grit-O, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, and Brief Self Control Scale). Clickstream data were compared to self-reported Cannabis use.

RESULTS

People reporting Cannabis use within the last 4 weeks required more time and more clicks to complete the online survey, and this was specifically associated with reported frequency of use, duration of impairment, and problems with memory and concentration. Longer amounts of time and more clicks on the online questionnaire were associated with more recent Cannabis use rather than demographic factors or stimulant use.

CONCLUSIONS

These results imply clickstream data remotely detected indecision or other deficits associated with previous Cannabis use.