Date of Graduation

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Psychological Science

Advisor/Mentor

Ellen Leen-Feldner, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Scott Eidelman, Ph.D.

Second Committee Member

Nicole Clowney, J.D.

Third Committee Member

Faith Lesner, Ph.D.

Abstract

The current study investigated how repeated administration of 300mg of cannabidiol (CBD), when compared to a placebo, affects the social, cognitive, and physical facets of anxiety sensitivity (AS), a characteristic that reflects fear of the consequences of anxious arousal. Prior work suggests CBD may have anxiolytic effects that may be specific to the social aspects of anxiety. Thus, it was hypothesized that, that, relative to placebo, CBD would reduce self-reported AS-social concerns, but not AS-cognitive or AS-physical concerns, compared to baseline. Participants (N= 79; 52 women; Mage = 22.06) with elevated perceived stress were randomly assigned to 14 days of repeated administration of either 300mg of CBD or a placebo. They self-reported their social, cognitive, and physical anxiety concerns using a well-validated measure at baseline and day 14. Contrary to expectations, results showed no significant interactions between condition and time for AS-social concerns, although there were no effects for AS-physical or AS-cognitive concerns either. These findings are discussed in light of the limitations of the current study with an eye toward the need for additional work in this important area.

Keywords

Cannabidiol, anxiety, placebo controlled, double-blind

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