Associations of personality traits with marijuana use in a nationally representative sample of adolescents in the United States

Abstract

IntroductionIdentifying adolescents at risk for marijuana use who can be targeted for intervention efforts is critical. Certain personality traits are strongly associated with substance use, including marijuana use. We investigated the associations of impulsivity (and its subscales sensation seeking and lack of planning), aggression, and neuroticism with marijuana use (lifetime and frequency of past 12-month use) in a national sample of adolescents.MethodsWe used data from the National Comorbidity Survey: Adolescent Supplement, a nationally representative, cross-sectional study of 8495 U.S. adolescents aged 14 to 18 years. We calculated adjusted prevalence ratios and odds ratios to assess associations of the five personality scales with lifetime use and frequency of past 12-month use and examined gender as a potential moderator of these associations.ResultsEach of the personality traits was positively associated with lifetime use (all p < 0.001). Impulsivity (the total scale and both subscales) and aggression (all p < 0.05) were positively associated with frequency of past 12-month use. The neuroticism–lifetime use association was stronger among girls (p < 0.001) than boys (p < 0.05), and the associations of impulsivity and lack of planning with frequency of use were significant only among girls, with moderate female users reporting higher levels of the personality scales than infrequent users (both p < 0.01).ConclusionsOur study highlights the potential importance of identifying personality traits, specifically disinhibition-related traits such as impulsivity and aggression, to reduce and prevent adolescent marijuana use.

A preliminary risk prediction model for cannabis use disorder

“…The risk factors identified by our model are consistent with the literature ( Dougherty et al, 2013 , Kong et al, 2013 , Lee-Winn et al, 2018 , Pampati et al, 2018 , Winters and Lee, 2008 ). In particular, previous findings indicate that younger people are more likely to develop CUD ( Winters and Lee, 2008 ).…”

Determinants of compulsory hospitalisation at admission and in the course of inpatient treatment in people with mental disorders—a retrospective analysis of health records of the four psychiatric hospitals of the city of Cologne

“…Both the main and secondary diagnoses were analysed. Separately, the comorbidities addiction and psychosis (F1 and F2), as well as addiction and personality disorder (F1 and F6) were investigated, as they are known to correlate with higher rates of aggressive behaviour, violent crimes, impulsivity and self-harming behaviour [44][45][46][47]. Metric data such as age, length of inpatient stay and the environmental sociodemographic characteristics were analysed by means of Mann-Whitney-U-Tests.…”

Developmental trajectories of Big Five personality traits among adolescents and young adults: Differences by sex, alcohol use, and marijuana use

“…Marijuana use is also associated with lower emotional stability, agreeableness, and conscientiousness in adolescents and young adults (Dash et al., 2019; LaSpada et al., 2020; Lee‐Winn et al., 2018). However, when combining alcohol with other illicit substance use (including marijuana), greater openness has been shown to be associated with heavy substance use in young adulthood (Chassin et al., 2004).…”