At-risk drinking and current cannabis use among medical students: a multivariable analysis of the role of personality traits

Abstract

Objective: To explore the role of personality traits in at-risk drinking and current cannabis use among medical students. Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated 707 medical students from two universities. Multiple logistic regression models for at-risk drinking and current cannabis use were constructed including sociodemographic, psychiatric, and personality variables. Results: At-risk drinking and current cannabis use were reported by 19.3% and 14.9% of participants, respectively. Models including Big Five measures showed associations of at-risk drinking with higher extraversion (p o 0.00001, adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.9) and lower conscientiousness (p = 0.00001, AOR = 0.5); cannabis use was also associated with lower conscientiousness (p = 0.003, AOR = 0.6), besides higher openness to experience (p = 0.002, AOR = 1.9). Models including measures of the Behavioral Inhibition and Activation Systems scales (BIS/BAS) showed associations of atrisk drinking with lower BIS (p = 0.002, AOR = 0.9) and higher BAS fun-seeking (p = 0.0005, AOR = 1.2); cannabis use was also associated with higher BAS fun-seeking (p = 0.008, AOR = 1.2). Personality variables had modest effects on model fit. Conclusion: Specific personality traits were independently associated with at-risk drinking and current cannabis use, albeit with modest effect sizes.

Hazardous alcohol consumption among older adults: A comprehensive and multi-national analysis of predictive factors in 13,351 individuals

“…Further, the influence of personality traits on drinking patterns differed between the sexes, as extraversion was significantly and positively associated with alcohol consumption for males but not for females. Our results on extraversion as risk factor for increased alcohol intake corroborate previous studies [18,20,[37][38][39][40]. In a pooled meta-analysis of eight cohort studies, Hakulinen et al evaluated the influence of the Big Five (BFI-10) personality traits on alcohol consumption in more than 70,000 adults [38].…”

“…It aims to empirically describe personality along five major dimensions: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness [4,5]. These five personality dimensions show clear heritable characteristics [6,7], have been found to be associated with several psychiatric disorders [8,9,10] and have frequently been used to investigate the complex interplay of substance use disorders (SUD) and personality within the last decades [20,[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. Data have shown mixed-sex samples to exhibit lower effect sizes than single-sex samples, indicating that mixing sexes in data analysis may obscure effects [32].…”

“…Furthermore, the influence of personality characteristics on alcohol consumption has either been researched in North America (mainly within college students) or in other single-country studies [18][19][20][21][22], but not within the highly relevant group of older adults in several European countries.…”

Personality traits, alcohol and cannabis use among medical students

“…Young adults, particularly undergraduate and graduate students, are highly exposed not only to alcohol but also to cannabis use during their university life. 2 Thus, this period is a favorable moment for prevention, early detection, and treatment, each of which in turn requires specially designed strategies.…”

Comment on “At-risk drinking and current cannabis use among medical students: a multivariable analysis of the role of personality traits”

“…The paper by Schwarzbold et al 1 comments on the relatively unique population of medical students, which differs from the broader general population on key factors such as general intelligence, academic and career motivation, and self-selection to a helping profession. Thus, the data need to be understood in proper context.…”