Association between personality traits and substance use in Spanish adolescents

Substance use is considered one of the most frequent risk behaviors during adolescence. Personality factors are linked to consumption during adolescence. Although there are studies on personality and consumption among Spanish adolescents, some outcomes are contradictory, and more studies including larger samples and using validated measures are needed. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between different personality factors and substance use among Spanish adolescents. Participants were 1,455 students aged between 13-18 years. The adaptation of the 16PF-IPIP Personality Inventory was applied to assess Warmth, Stability, Gregariousness, Friendliness, Sensitivity, Trust, Openness to experience, Sociability, Perfectionism, and Calmness. Participants were asked about their different consumption substances during their lifetime. Results provide evidence for a relationship between personality factors and psychoactive substance use. There are different distributions of alcohol use regarding personality traits. Furthermore, personality factors have some influence on consumption of alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine.Trust and Calmness influence average alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine consumption, whereas Sociability had no statistically significant influence on any of the three substances. The results from this study are highly useful in the design of preventive programs, as they provide more evidence of the role of personality traits as a risk factor.