Resumen

SCOPPETTA, Orlando; CASTANO PEREZ, Guillermo A.; BECONA IGLESIAS, Elisardo  y  RESTREPO ESCOBAR, Sandra Milena. Psychometric exploration of motivational deficit in marijuana users. Interdisciplinaria [online]. 2020, vol.37, n.1, pp.3-4. ISSN 1668-7027.  http://dx.doi.org/10.16888/interd.2020.37.1.2.

It is common to find marijuana users with alterations in motivation, in clinical practice. Several studies have found evidence about a possible amotivational syndrome in marijuana users, both from the analysis of behavior and from the neurological examination. However, the existence of such a syndrome associated with the use of marijuana has not been firmly established, among other reasons, due to the concurrence of factors such as depression and the use of other drugs that may lead to inadequate generalization of the situation of some consumers of the substance and due to methodological difficulties in research aimed at establishing whether or not there is a decrease in the general motivation associated with the use of marijuana. Likewise, the decrease in motivation could be the result of the disorder by substances rather than by the consumption of marijuana. Due to the growing use of marijuana in the world, the study of its consequences is of the greatest importance, for the design of better treatments for people with substance use disorders. The aim of this study was to obtain evidence about the existence or not of deficiencies in the motivation of marijuana users. In addition, we sought to establish which are the characteristic behaviors that show this possible reduction of motivation. A battery of questions was constructed from a systematic literature review in PubMed, Lilacs, MedLine, Cochrane library, Embase, Science Direct and Bibliomed, using as terms “amotivational syndrome”, “amotivation cannabis”, “amotivation marijuana”, “comorbidity cannabis”, “comorbidity marijuaba”, “mental disorders and cannabis”, “cannabis and mental consequences”, “amotivation and drug use”. Likewise, an expert consultation was done about behaviors that were indicative of a reduction in the motivation of marijuana users. From the review and consultation of experts, a set of 70 possible behaviors expressed in questions about probable deficiencies in motivation was extracted. These questions, along with other instruments selected to exclude from the analysis participants with depression, prefrontal symptoms, alcohol use disorders, apathy and affective flattening, which could confuse the results, were presented to a sample of 1455 participants. The Rasch model was applied to establish whether it was possible to identify a measurable and consistent dimension that corresponded to a deficiency in motivation, and to discern which behaviors would be most characteristic of a possible motivational deficiency in habitual marijuana users. In addition, an exploratory factor analysis was carried out to identify possible groupings of the characteristic symptoms of a reduction in motivation. Our Results and conclusions show that it was estimated that 54.9 % of the participants would have a serious disorder due to the use of marijuana; 54.0 % presented symptoms of affective flattening, and 60.9 % would be marijuana users with high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The average number of cigarettes consumed per month would be 44.5. Using the Rasch model it was established that, with the constructed set of questions, it was possible to identify a dimension or factor coinciding with a motivational deficiency. Using the exploratory factor analysis, it was found that the characteristic behaviors could be grouped into four possible subdimensions: emotional apathy; social withdrawal; neglect of personal image and motor slowdown.

Palabras clave : motivation; drug abuse; street drugs; Rasch Model; psychometry; factor analysis; marijuana.

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