The impact of sexual scripts in brand-generated cannabis social media posts on sex-related cannabis expectancies: Does body appreciation moderate effects?

INTRODUCTION: Cannabis messaging on digital media may include sexualised portrayals. We examined whether exposure to and perceptions of cannabis posts that included sexual objectification impacted two types of sex-related cannabis expectancies-sexual risk and sexual enhancement-and whether body appreciation moderated these relationships.

METHODS: We conducted an online experiment with college students in Washington state. Participants viewed three brand-generated cannabis Instagram posts that either included sexually objectified women or recreational appeals (e.g., sitting by a firepit). We conducted regressions, using the PROCESS macro, to examine the hypothesized model and potential mediation and moderation.

RESULTS: Exposure to sexualised advertisements was associated with increased perceptions of cannabis sex enhancement scripts (b = 0.34, p < 0.01), which was associated with increased cannabis sex enhancement expectancies (b = 0.34, p < 0.001) and decreased cannabis sexual risk expectancies (b = -0.16, p < 0.001); exposure to such advertisements were also associated with increased perceptions of cannabis sexual risk scripts (b = 0.61, p < 0.001), which was associated with increased cannabis sexual risk expectancies (b = 0.53, p < 0.001). Body appreciation was associated with increased cannabis sex enhancement expectancies (b = 0.13, p < 0.01) and moderated the relationship between exposure to sexualised ads and cannabis sex enhancement expectancies (b = -0.21, p < 0.01).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Practitioners may want to consider how to increase critical consumption of cannabis content on digital media. Researchers should consider the possible role of body appreciation as it relates to cannabis and sex enhancement expectancies.