PREDICTORS OF PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN ADOLESCENTS: THE ROLE OF EXTRAVERSION, NEUROTICISM, PSYCHOTICISM, AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS
Keywords:
Personality, substance abuse, neuroticism, psychoticismAbstract
Purpose
Drug abuse refers to a range of behaviors that are regulated by criminal law in many countries. Due to their “social danger,” numerous studies have examined different aspects of this phenomenon. Among these, a significant number of works focus on the role of personality traits such as extraversion, psychoticism, and neuroticism in the initiation of drug use and the development of substance dependence. In contrast, studies focusing on drug abuse are relatively rare, especially those that examine the etiological role of personality traits and their involvement in preventive models.
This paper explores the role of personality traits in drug abuse, specifically the extent to which differences in such behavior can be predicted based on levels of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism. The theoretical foundation of this research is Eysenck’s theory of crime, one of the most prominent biological–psychological theories explaining criminal behavior. According to this theory, criminal behavior arises through the interaction of hereditary predispositions and environmental factors, with socialization and classical conditioning playing a significant role.
Design/Methods/Approach
The sample in this research consists of 458 high school students from Belgrade, aged between 15 and 19. The average age of the participants was 17.72 years, with 67.7% being male and 32.3% female. To assess personality traits, the EPQ-R (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire – Revised), adapted for the Serbian-speaking population, was used.
In addition, a specific questionnaire was constructed to examine students' behaviors related to drug abuse, which includes questions of various types.
Canonical discriminant analysis was used to analyze the collected data.
Findings
Canonical discriminant analysis showed that there is one discriminant function that is statistically significant for both forms of substance abuse (use and distribution). Extraversion had a strong predictive contribution in discriminating both forms of abuse, while psychoticism had a significant impact, especially in the case of drug distribution. Neuroticism did not have a significant contribution to defining the discriminant functions in either case. Among the environmental risk factors, drug and alcohol abuse among peers, criminal behavior, changing schools, running away from home, and poor family relationships (in the case of drug distribution) significantly contributed to differences in substance abuse.
Originality/Value
Considering that the majority of adolescents begin experimenting with drugs during adolescence or even at a slightly earlier age, it is of utmost importance to implement preventive programs at this stage. The findings of this study, as well as those of other research conducted on adolescent populations, may serve as a foundational basis for the development and implementation of such programs.
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