physical abuse, may not have been interpreted as such by the participant. Therefore increased risk of cannabis involvement might not be expected. Overall, these differences in trauma associated risk are difficult to interpret as we would have expected larger hazards associated trauma for EAs compared AAs given the overall higher rates of trauma exposure in the AA sample. A possible explanation for racial differences could be linked to differential levels of support following trauma exposure. African Americans are less likely to seek treatment following a trauma exposure (Roberts et al., 2011). As such, they may experience prolonged distress associated with the trauma as compared to those who do receive treatment and subsequently use cannabis to alleviate the distress. As the main focus on MOAFTS was substance related, treatment seeking following a trauma exposure was not assessed, but would be a valuable factor to consider in future investigations.
