Citation

N'Goran AA, Baggio S, Deline S, Studer J, Mohler-Kuo M, Daeppen JB, Gmel G. Psychiatry Clin. Neurosci. 2014; 69(4): 228-237.

Affiliation

Alcohol Treatment Centre, Lausanne University Hospital CHUV, Av. Beaumont 21 bis, Pavillon 2, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/pcn.12231

PMID

25113854

Abstract

AIM: To investigate the relationships between six classes of non-medical prescription drug use (NMPDU) and five personality traits.

METHODS: Representative baseline data on 5,777 Swiss men around 20 years old were taken from the Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors. NMPDU of opioid analgesics, sedatives/sleeping pills, anxiolytics, antidepressants, beta-blockers and stimulants over the previous 12 months was measured. Personality was assessed using the brief sensation seeking scale; attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADH) using the adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder self-report scale; and aggression/hostility, anxiety/neuroticism and sociability using the Zuckerman-Kuhlmann personality questionnaire. Logistic regression models for each personality trait were fitted, as were seven multiple logistic regression models predicting each NMPDU adjusting for all personality traits and covariates.

RESULTS: Around 10.7% of participants reported NMPDU in the last 12 months, with opioid analgesics most prevalent (6.7%), then sedatives/sleeping pills (3.0%), anxiolytics (2.7%), and stimulants (1.9%). Sensation seeking (SS), ADH, aggressivity/hostility, and anxiety/neuroticism (but not sociability) were significantly positively associated with at least one drug class (OR varied between 1.24 [1.04-1.48] and 1.86 [1.47-2.35]). Aggression/hostility, anxiety/neuroticism and ADH were significantly and positively related to almost all NMPDU. Sociability was inversely related to NMPDU of sedatives/sleeping pills and anxiolytics (OR 0.70 [0.51-0.96] and 0.64 [0.46-0.90], respectively). SS was only related to stimulant use (OR=1.74 [1.14-2.65]).

CONCLUSION: People with higher scores for ADH, aggression/hostility and anxiety/neuroticism are at higher risk of NMPDU. Sociability appeared to protect from NMPDU of sedatives/sleeping pills and anxiolytics.

Language: en