3-3 Final Project Milestone One: Literature Review Draft
Psy215 Abnormal Psychology
N. Yagelis Pichardo
May 24, 2018
PSY 215 Literature Review Template
Please note: Keep in mind that the following questions are practice and preparation for the more
detailed literature review elements to come. When you complete your literature review, you will
be addressing more specific elements. These questions are the first thing to think about when
beginning a literature review.
Track and Topic: Biological: Can marijuana make it better? Prospective effects of marijuana and
temperament on risk for anxiety and depression.
Article #1 (Preassigned #1)
1. What is the title of the article? Provide a reference for the article in APA format.
Can marijuana make it better? Prospective effects of marijuana and temperament
on risk for anxiety and depression.
Grunberg, V. A., Ito, T. A., Bidwell, C. L., & Cordova, K. A. (2015, September 29). Can
marijuana make it better? Prospective effects of marijuana and temperament on risk for anxiety
and depression. Retrieved January 22, 2017, from The National Center for Biotechnology
Information, http://read:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4588070/
2. What is the purpose of the article?
The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of understanding how marijuana
affects mental health, specifically anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression given that
marijuana use is highest among late adolescents/early adults, the same age range in which risk
for anxiety and depression is the highest.
,3-3 Final Project Milestone One: Literature Review Draft
Psy215 Abnormal Psychology
N. Yagelis Pichardo
May 24, 2018
3. What is the hypothesis of the study? In other words, what claims do the authors make in
the article? What are the outcomes of the study, that is, the conclusions that the authors
made as a result of the study?
The study seeks to better understand how marijuana use relates to anxiety and depression
within late adolescents/early adults by examining how it might moderate the effects of
temperament on symptoms of anxiety and depression. Given past research and the nature of the
behavioral biases associated with HA, we predict that baseline HA will positively predict both
anxiety and depression symptoms assessed one year later. However, given potential anxiolytic
and euphoriant effects, we expect marijuana to moderate this relationship, such that the positive
association of HA with anxiety and depression symptoms will be most evident when marijuana
use is low. Marijuana may itself show a simple relation to anxiety and depression, with fewer
symptoms of anxiety and depression among those who use marijuana more frequently. We assess
these relations while also controlling for baseline anxiety and depression. If HA and its
interaction with marijuana use have effects independent of current anxiety and depression, we
expect these relations to be evident even after controlling for baseline levels of psychopathology.
(Grunberg, Cordova, Bidwell, & Ito, n.d.)
4. What variables (factors) are being looked at as an influence on abnormal behavior?
The independent variables are age (18-25), ethnicity (Black, Asian, Hispanic, Pacific
Islander, East Indian, Middle Eastern, multi-racial and Caucasian), gender (male and female) and
how frequent or infrequent marijuana is being used among college students.
The dependent variables are temperament (affects mental health via genetically determined
biases that influence automatic responses to novelty, punishment, and reward), anxiety (a feeling
, 3-3 Final Project Milestone One: Literature Review Draft
Psy215 Abnormal Psychology
N. Yagelis Pichardo
May 24, 2018
of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an
uncertain outcome), and depression (is a common and serious medical illness that negatively
affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act).
5. If these variables or the relationship between these variables have been studied before,
what have other studies found? This shows historical significance.
Results from studies that have focused on recreational users and/or young adults are quite
variable; some show a negative association between marijuana use and anxiety/depression (e.g.,
Denson & Earleywine, 2006; Sethi et al., 1986; Stewart et al., 1997), others a positive
association (e.g., Bonn-Miller et al., 2005; Hayatbakhsh et al., 2007; Scholes-Balog et al., 2013),
and still others no association (e.g., Green & Ritter, 2000; Musty & Kaback, 1995). Such a
diverse pattern of results suggests that other factors may also interact with marijuana use to affect
anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of diversity in the extant
research along multiple dimensions (e.g., community vs. college samples, samples unselected vs.
selected for marijuana use, different types of marijuana, anxiety, and depression measures),
making it difficult to identify variables that explain the different patterns of associations
obtained. Here we begin the process of identifying factors that affect the relation between
marijuana use and anxiety and depression by examining a variable that is itself known to relate to
anxiety and depression.
6. Describe the research design (e.g., descriptive, correlational, experimental) that was
used in the study.
This was a correlational research design. Potential participants were recruited via email
invitations to their university account and advertisements on campus to take part in a three-year
Psy215 Abnormal Psychology
N. Yagelis Pichardo
May 24, 2018
PSY 215 Literature Review Template
Please note: Keep in mind that the following questions are practice and preparation for the more
detailed literature review elements to come. When you complete your literature review, you will
be addressing more specific elements. These questions are the first thing to think about when
beginning a literature review.
Track and Topic: Biological: Can marijuana make it better? Prospective effects of marijuana and
temperament on risk for anxiety and depression.
Article #1 (Preassigned #1)
1. What is the title of the article? Provide a reference for the article in APA format.
Can marijuana make it better? Prospective effects of marijuana and temperament
on risk for anxiety and depression.
Grunberg, V. A., Ito, T. A., Bidwell, C. L., & Cordova, K. A. (2015, September 29). Can
marijuana make it better? Prospective effects of marijuana and temperament on risk for anxiety
and depression. Retrieved January 22, 2017, from The National Center for Biotechnology
Information, http://read:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4588070/
2. What is the purpose of the article?
The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of understanding how marijuana
affects mental health, specifically anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression given that
marijuana use is highest among late adolescents/early adults, the same age range in which risk
for anxiety and depression is the highest.
,3-3 Final Project Milestone One: Literature Review Draft
Psy215 Abnormal Psychology
N. Yagelis Pichardo
May 24, 2018
3. What is the hypothesis of the study? In other words, what claims do the authors make in
the article? What are the outcomes of the study, that is, the conclusions that the authors
made as a result of the study?
The study seeks to better understand how marijuana use relates to anxiety and depression
within late adolescents/early adults by examining how it might moderate the effects of
temperament on symptoms of anxiety and depression. Given past research and the nature of the
behavioral biases associated with HA, we predict that baseline HA will positively predict both
anxiety and depression symptoms assessed one year later. However, given potential anxiolytic
and euphoriant effects, we expect marijuana to moderate this relationship, such that the positive
association of HA with anxiety and depression symptoms will be most evident when marijuana
use is low. Marijuana may itself show a simple relation to anxiety and depression, with fewer
symptoms of anxiety and depression among those who use marijuana more frequently. We assess
these relations while also controlling for baseline anxiety and depression. If HA and its
interaction with marijuana use have effects independent of current anxiety and depression, we
expect these relations to be evident even after controlling for baseline levels of psychopathology.
(Grunberg, Cordova, Bidwell, & Ito, n.d.)
4. What variables (factors) are being looked at as an influence on abnormal behavior?
The independent variables are age (18-25), ethnicity (Black, Asian, Hispanic, Pacific
Islander, East Indian, Middle Eastern, multi-racial and Caucasian), gender (male and female) and
how frequent or infrequent marijuana is being used among college students.
The dependent variables are temperament (affects mental health via genetically determined
biases that influence automatic responses to novelty, punishment, and reward), anxiety (a feeling
, 3-3 Final Project Milestone One: Literature Review Draft
Psy215 Abnormal Psychology
N. Yagelis Pichardo
May 24, 2018
of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an
uncertain outcome), and depression (is a common and serious medical illness that negatively
affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act).
5. If these variables or the relationship between these variables have been studied before,
what have other studies found? This shows historical significance.
Results from studies that have focused on recreational users and/or young adults are quite
variable; some show a negative association between marijuana use and anxiety/depression (e.g.,
Denson & Earleywine, 2006; Sethi et al., 1986; Stewart et al., 1997), others a positive
association (e.g., Bonn-Miller et al., 2005; Hayatbakhsh et al., 2007; Scholes-Balog et al., 2013),
and still others no association (e.g., Green & Ritter, 2000; Musty & Kaback, 1995). Such a
diverse pattern of results suggests that other factors may also interact with marijuana use to affect
anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of diversity in the extant
research along multiple dimensions (e.g., community vs. college samples, samples unselected vs.
selected for marijuana use, different types of marijuana, anxiety, and depression measures),
making it difficult to identify variables that explain the different patterns of associations
obtained. Here we begin the process of identifying factors that affect the relation between
marijuana use and anxiety and depression by examining a variable that is itself known to relate to
anxiety and depression.
6. Describe the research design (e.g., descriptive, correlational, experimental) that was
used in the study.
This was a correlational research design. Potential participants were recruited via email
invitations to their university account and advertisements on campus to take part in a three-year
