Temperament and character traits associated with the use of alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, benzodiazepines, and hallucinogens: evidence from a large Brazilian web survey

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate how personality traits are associated with occasional use, abuse, and dependence of alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, benzodiazepines, and hallucinogens in a large availability sample of adults via online questionnaires. Methods: The sample consisted of 8,646 individuals (24.7% men and 75.3% women) who completed an anonymous web survey. Involvement with drugs and temperament/character traits were assessed through the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) and the Temperament and Character Inventory -Revised (TCI-R), respectively. Interactions among variables were analyzed using MANOVA with Bonferroni adjustment. Results: Novelty seeking was the trait most associated with increased involvement with alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine. There was a significant association between harm avoidance and benzodiazepine use. Persistence was lower in cannabis-, benzodiazepine-, and cocaine-dependent subjects, as well as in hallucinogen abusers. Self-directedness was reduced in dependents of all drug classes. No strong relationships were found between other temperament or character dimensions and the severity of drug use. Conclusions: Novelty seeking was associated with increased involvement with all drugs studied in this sample, although to a lesser extent with benzodiazepines and hallucinogens. The temperament and character profile for benzodiazepine use was different from that of other drugs due to the relationship with higher harm avoidance and self-transcendence and lower self-directedness.

NGF gene polymorphisms are not associated with heroin dependence in a Taiwanese male population

“…In fact, novelty seeking is the characteristics of sensation‐seeking personality in humans, and higher novelty seeking would predict the initiation of drug use, subsequent compulsive use, and the risk to relapse . Our finding is consistent with previous substance‐related studies, including alcohol, amphetamine, cocaine, tobacco, and cannabis . In addition, our study found a negative correlation between NS score and age in patients with HD, implying that adolescents display higher levels of novelty seeking than do adults, and may have higher risk for developing substance dependence …”

Novelty Seeking and Drug Addiction in Humans and Animals: From Behavior to Molecules

“…Mahoney and colleagues found that individuals with cocaine or methamphetamine use disorders had significantly higher Sensation Seeking Scores across both drug groupings than did healthy controls (Mahoney et al, 2015). A recent study of 8646 adult individuals using the TCI showed that novelty seeking was the trait most associated with the use of alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine (Schneider et al, 2015). In addition, high novelty seeking or sensation seeking is associated with an increased frequency and amount of drug use, as well as an increased risk for using addictive drugs and developing addiction (Hawkins et al, 1992).…”

Aplicação do instrumento Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST): uma revisão integrativa

“…From the studies analyzed, 23.1% did not apply any interventions (2,10,16,20,(27)(28) ; 23.1% suggested that the instrument should be implemented in the PC for screening of drug use and abuse, and preventing the increase of consumption (6,8,(18)(19)22,29) and therefore before the classification criteria of the test, it is possible to assess the risk attributed to the stage of development for each substance (39)(40) . The other studies used the ASSIST score for comparison with results from other instruments (11) , incentive for validation by demonstrating the psychometric properties to detect problems associated with drugs (41)(42) and application of the ASSIST in PC (33) , and for drug use identification in order to develop long-term interventions (17) .…”