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Personality or pathology? Predictors of early substance use in first-year college students
Benjamin J Mitchell1, Pallavi Aurora1, Karin G Coifman1
1Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA.
Objective:
The aim of the current study was to examine the dual role of personality and psychopathology in predicting substance use among first-year students.
Participants:
103 first-semester undergraduate students were recruited via the university subject pool.
Methods:
Participants completed personality questionnaires, structured clinical interviews, followed by the completion of diary entries each week reporting on substance use throughout their first semester.
Results:
Results indicated that a past diagnosis of an affective (mood/anxiety/stress) disorder was the most significant predictor of substance use. Personality and current psychopathology had no association to substance use.
Conclusion:
This finding is consistent with developmental models of substance use relating to emotion-related disease and suggests that greater nuance is needed in understanding substance use risk in college students.
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