Some marijuana users may smoke marijuana frequently in an attempt to get high when feeling low, a new study suggests. The study, while appeared in September’s Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, indicated that adolescents and young adults may routinely smoke marijuana in an effort to bolster negative moods.

The study’s lead author, Lydia A. Shrier, MD, MPH, from the division of adolescent and young adult medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, said in a statement, “Young people who use marijuana frequently experience an increase in negative affect in the 24 hours leading up to a use event, which lends strong support to an affect-regulation model in this population.”

Shrier states that those who use marijuana as a coping technique for negative affect might find it harder to stop using the drug.

Shrier explained, “One of the challenges is that people often may use marijuana to feel better but may feel worse afterward.” She continued, “Marijuana use can be associated with anxiety and other negative states. People feel bad, they use, and they might momentarily feel better, but then they feel worse. They don’t necessarily link feeling bad after using with the use itself, so it can become a vicious circle.”

A total of 40 people were recruited for the study, ages 15 to 24. The participants used marijuana at least twice a week, with an average use of 9.7 times per week. Participants learned to use a handheld computer that signaled to them at a random time within three-hour intervals, four to six times each day, for two weeks. With the signal, participants answered questions regarding their mood, companionship, perceived availability of marijuana, and their recent marijuana use. Participants were asked to report prior to or just after marijuana use, and completed a total of over 3,600 reports.

According to drugabuse.gov, marijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, which contains the psychoactive (mind-altering) chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as well as other related compounds.