Christina Dyar to study cannabis use disorder risk among LGBTQ+ individuals
The National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH/NIDA) has awarded Christina Dyar, PhD, assistant professor at The Ohio State University College of Nursing and a Provost’s Early Career Scholar, a five-year, $3.5 million grant for a study aimed at identifying factors associated with an increased risk for cannabis use disorder among LGBTQ+ individuals.
The prestigious R01 grant supports Dyar’s study entitled “Testing a multistage model of risk factors for cannabis use utilizing a measurement burst design among sexual minority women, sexual minority gender diverse individuals and heterosexual women.”
“LGB+ women and non-binary individuals are four times more likely to have a cannabis use disorder compared to cisgender, heterosexual individuals,” said Dyar, who will serve as the principal investigator. “Understanding factors contributing to cannabis use and cannabis use disorder among LGBTQ+ individuals can help us to identify factors that could be targeted in interventions that aim to help LGBTQ+ individuals who want to decrease their cannabis use. Such interventions, in turn, can help to reduce elevated rates of cannabis use disorder affecting this population.”
Dyar explained that cannabis use disorder “refers to continued use of cannabis despite experiencing substantial consequences as a result of one’s use, as well as difficulty quitting or cutting down on cannabis use.” Among other things, Dyar and her team will study risk processes that may contribute to progression from recreational use to cannabis use disorder, including microaggressions targeting LGBTQ+ individuals. Participants in the study (both LGBTQ+ and heterosexual) will complete semi-annual bursts of daily surveys to share their experiences and use of cannabis and other substances.
“The results of this study will inform the development of interventions to help LGBTQ+ individuals who want to reduce or stop using cannabis,” Dyar said.
Co-investigators joining Dyar in this work include Debra Kaysen, PhD, from Stanford University and Christine Lee, PhD, and Isaac Rhew, PhD, from the University of Washington.
