Personality/mental health correlates of drug use by high school students

This study tested the hypothesis (derived from similar studies with college students) that personality/mental health differences do exist between high school users and nonuses of drugs (with the exception of marijuana). Subjects were students in the psychology classes of a large high school in a southwestern urban area who were asked to complete anonymously, two instruments: one, the usual drug use survey, and the other, a 48-item-self-report personality inventory, the theoretical orientation of which is Rogerian. N totaled 190 (110 males and 80 females). Statistical techniques utilized in analyses of the data included Pearson product-moment correlations, and single classification analysis of variance. The central hypothesis was impressively supported only for males, i.e., there were many personality/mental health differences between males nonusers and male polyusers. However, for marijuana, no differences were found between users and nonusers. The findings are said to agree with the result of analogous studies using college students. Implications of the findings for mental health professionals are briefly discussed.