This document provides a summary of a seminar paper on the relationship between personality traits and substance abuse. It includes sections on the contents, introduction, literature review, drug addiction, personality traits, and conclusions. The introduction discusses how drug addiction is a problem among adolescents and involves sociological, economic, and psychiatric factors. The literature review covers the history of drug use and legislation. Personality traits associated with substance abuse include high neuroticism, openness to experience, and low conscientiousness, agreeableness. Prevention and treatment options are also discussed.
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Personality Traits and Substance Abuse - Debashreeta Jena - +3, 2nd yr Ats, Psychology Department.pptx
1. DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
A Seminar Paper On:-
Personality Traits And Substance Abuse
Submitted By:
Debashreeta Jena
+3, 2nd yr Arts
BA 20 306
Psychology
Regd No.
Under the Guidance of: Lt. Sima Mohanty
3. Certificate
Submitted To
Lt. Sima Mohanty
This is to certify that Debashreeta Jena a student of +3,2nd yr, Arts of Psychology
Department from Kendrapara Autonomous College has successfully completed her
seminar report entitled “Personality Traits And Substance Abuse” under my guidance.
4. Acknowledgement
Submitted To
Lt. Sima Mohanty
In the accomplishment of this seminar report, many people have best owned upon me their blessings and
the heart pledged support, this time I am utilizing to thank all the people who have concerned with this
seminar report.
Primarily I would thank god for being able to complete this seminar with success. Then I would like to
thank my Principal Mr. Rajendra Kumar Tripathy and our lectures Lt. Sima Mohanty, HOD Mr. Debakant
Sarangi, Faculty Miss Archana Swain whose valuable guidance has been the ones that helped me patch this
report and make it full proof success. Their suggestions and their instructions have served as the major
contributors towards the completion of the report.
Then I would like to thank my parents who have helped me with their valuable suggestions and guidance
has been very helpful in various phases of the completion this report.
Last but not the least I would thank my classmates who have helped me a lot for the completion of this
report.
5. ABSTRACT
Statistics are cited indicating that drug addiction in
adolescents is not a new problem and moreover the opiate
addiction involves primarily adolescents and young adults.
The problem of heroin addiction is complex and multifaceted
involving sociologic, economic, and psychiatric determinants.
After all other factors are considered there remains a large
and constant psychological factor.
A heroin addict personality type among adolescents is
delineated and its characteristics are discussed.
Drug addiction in young people is related to the critical
problem of adolescence, that of making the transition to
adult status and responsibility.
7. INTRODUCTION
People are most likely to begin abusing drugs—including tobacco, alcohol, and illegal and prescription
drugs—during adolescence and young adulthood. There are many reasons adolescents use these
substances, including the desire for new experiences, an attempt to deal with problems or perform
better in school, and simple peer pressure. Adolescents are “biologically wired” to seek new
experiences and take risks, as well as to carve out their own identity. Drug use can be part of a
pattern of risky behavior including unsafe sex, driving while intoxicated, or other hazardous,
unsupervised activities. And in cases when a teen does develop a pattern of repeated use, it can pose
serious social and health risks, including:
school failure
problems with family and other relationships
loss of interest in normal healthy activities
impaired memory
increased risk of contracting an infectious disease (like HIV or hepatitis C) via risky sexual behavior
or sharing contaminated injection equipment
mental health problems—including substance use disorders of varying severity
the very real risk of overdose death
8. When substance use disorders are identified and treated in adolescence—especially if they are
mild or moderate—they frequently give way to abstinence from drugs with no further problems.
Relapse is a possibility, however, as it is with other chronic diseases like diabetes or asthma.
Relapse should not be seen as a sign that treatment failed but as an occasion to engage in
additional or different treatment. Averting and detecting relapse involves monitoring by the
adolescent, parents, and teachers, as well as follow-up by treatment providers. Although recovery
support programs are not a substitute for formal evidence-based treatment, they may help some
adolescents maintain a positive and productive drug-free lifestyle that promotes meaningful and
beneficial relationships and connections to family, peers, and the community both during
treatment and after treatment ends. Whatever services or programs are used, an adolescent’s
path to recovery will be strengthened by support from family members, non-drug-using peers, the
school, and others in his or her life.
9. Generally, those who use drugs or alcohol are characterized by having high Neuroticism, high
Openness to Experience, low Agreeableness, and low Conscientiousness. However, there are
individual personality differences between the drugs that are used. For example, heroin and
cocaine users are generally lower in Openness to Experience, while Marijuana users are only
average in Neuroticism. Extraversion shows no association with drug use. Perhaps obviously,
people high in Conscientiousness are more resistant to drug addiction. Therefore, low Neuroticism,
low Openness to Experience, high Agreeableness, and high Conscientiousness can all protect
someone from drug use, and therefore, subsequent drug abuse. Personality traits are associated
with and may predict future and continued drug use. Therefore, environment and personality
affect the prevalence of substance use disorders. No matter what personality traits define
someone, recovery is possible, and there is hope.
10. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
In the 19th century with the emerge of morphine, cocaine, and laudanum which were extracted to the
ingredient of psychoactive drugs. In the US, the morphine was applied onto wound treatment and relieved
the pain for veterans during the Civil War. The drugs were popularly sold everywhere in the local areas. The
industry of growing morphine became thriving and it was spread out around the United States, (Lambert,
2018).
In 1985, the legislator enacted the first law to prohibit the drug abuse after the outlaw was broken out in
San Francisco. Until 1914, there were only physicians, pharmacists or who had medical license were legal for
cocaine selling. The Supreme Court inhibited the physicians to take the narcotics prescription because this
was an addictive treatment. The narcotic substances were officially decreased, (Lambert, 2018).
In 1930, the United States Federal began an anti-drug abuse campaign in many schools to educate and raise
the young generation’s awareness. Many years later, the invasion of new ingredients: Marijuana,
amphetamines, tranquilizer, and hallucinogenic were approaching and increasing drastically. Most of drugs
were illegal except some states were discriminated of growing marijuana or cocaine, (Lambert, 2018).
The laws tried to diminish the overwhelming of drug user. By 1995, the tobacco and any products contained
alcohol were labeled with warnings, especially for pregnant women by Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
For those who violated or committed crimes relating to drug, they had to receive the penalty. It was mean
that the factories of distribution would stand for the penalties if they brake the laws, (Lambert, 2018).
11. Today, the National survey on Drug Use and Health reported 80% of American people who suffered
from alcohol disorder in 2014. There was 7 million people who struggled with drug disorder. It was
mean one per eight people who suffered from drug disorder. However, it costed up to 200 billion
dollars to spend in healthcare, criminal justice and legal by American society, (Statistic on drug
addiction, 2018).
There were three typical causes of drug addiction: Inheritance from family, environment factors, and
adolescent. Young teenagers have the high potential risks because the earlier drug taking, the more
serious health impact. The group of young adults between 18 and 25 had the highest percentage was
16.3 percent. College students dominated 72 percent of substance and drug abuse, mostly alcohol
disorder, the second was marijuana at 55.7 percent, and there was 31.6 percent from prescription
drugs, (Statistic on drug addiction, 2018).
America is one of the countries that has a long history of drug abuse. Although the researchers
develop many treatments, but this still be a concern because the increase of abusers. The treatments
are used to help people stop taking drugs and integrate back to the society. For example, the
treatment including behavior counseling, medication, and medical devices. The treatments are long
term or short term which depends on the person’s drug abuse status, (Statistic on drug addiction,
2018).
12. Substance Abuse
What is Substance Abuse?
Abuse is defined as a chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking,
continued use despite harmful consequences, and long-lasting changes in the brain. It is
considered both a complex brain disorder and a mental illness.
Addiction is the most severe form of a full spectrum of substance use disorders, and is a
medical illness caused by repeated misuse of a substance or substances.
Drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a disease that affects a person's brain
and behavior and leads to an inability to control the use of a legal or illegal drug or
medication.
Substances such as alcohol, marijuana and nicotine also are considered drugs. The risk of
addiction and how fast you become addicted varies by drug.
13. Drug addiction symptoms or behaviors include, among others:-
• Feeling that you have to use the drug regularly — daily or even several times a day.
• Having intense urges for the drug that block out any other thoughts.
• Over time, needing more of the drug to get the same effect.
• Taking larger amounts of the drug over a longer period of time than you intended.
• Making certain that you maintain a supply of the drug.
• Spending money on the drug, even though you can't afford it.
• Not meeting obligations and work responsibilities, or cutting back on social or recreational
activities because of drug use.
• Continuing to use the drug, even though you know it's causing problems in your life or causing you
physical or psychological harm.
• Doing things to get the drug that you normally wouldn't do, such as stealing.
• Driving or doing other risky activities when you're under the influence of the drug.
• Spending a good deal of time getting the drug, using the drug or recovering from the effects of the
drug.
• Failing in your attempts to stop using the drug.
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when you attempt to stop taking the drug.
14. Causes:-
Like many mental health disorders, several factors may contribute to development of
drug addiction. The main factors are:
• Environment. Environmental factors, including your family's beliefs and
attitudes and exposure to a peer group that encourages drug use, seem to play a
role in initial drug use.
• Genetics. Once you've started using a drug, the development into addiction
may be influenced by inherited (genetic) traits, which may delay or speed up the
disease progression.
15. Complications
Drug use can have significant and damaging short-term and long-term effects. Taking some drugs can
be particularly risky, especial Complications
Drug use can have significant and damaging short-term and long-term effects. Taking some drugs can
be particularly risky, especially if you take high doses or combine them with other drugs or alcohol.
Here are some examples.
•Methamphetamine, opiates and cocaine are highly addictive and cause multiple short-term and long-
term health consequences, including psychotic behavior, seizures or death due to overdose.
•GHB and flunitrazepam may cause sedation, confusion and memory loss. These so-called "date rape
drugs" are known to impair the ability to resist unwanted contact and recollection of the event. At high
doses, they can cause seizures, coma and death. The danger increases when these drugs are taken with
alcohol.
•Ecstasy or molly (MDMA) can cause dehydration, electrolyte imbalance and complications that can
include seizures. Long-term, MDMA can damage the brain.
•One particular danger of club drugs is that the liquid, pill or powder forms of these drugs available on
the street often contain unknown substances that can be harmful, including other illegally
manufactured or pharmaceutical drugs.
•Due to the toxic nature of inhalants, users may develop brain damage of different levels of severity.
16. Can addiction be treated successfully?
Yes. Addiction is a treatable, chronic disorder that can be managed successfully. Research
shows that combining behavioral therapy with medications, if available, is the best way to
ensure success for most patients. The combination of medications and behavioral
interventions to treat a substance use disorder is known as medication-assisted treatment.
Treatment approaches must be tailored to address each patient’s drug use patterns and
drug-related medical, psychiatric, environmental, and social problems.
Relapse rates for patients with substance use disorders are compared with those suffering
from hypertension and asthma. Relapse is common and similar across these illnesses (as is
adherence to medication). Thus, drug addiction should be treated like any other chronic
illness, with relapse serving as a trigger for renewed intervention.
17. Prevention
The best way to prevent an addiction to a drug is not to take the drug at all. If
your doctor prescribes a drug with the potential for addiction, use care when
taking the drug and follow the instructions provided by your doctor.
Doctors should prescribe these medications at safe doses and amounts and
monitor their use so that you're not given too great a dose or for too long a time.
If you feel you need to take more than the prescribed dose of a medication, talk
to your doctor.
18. Preventing drug misuse in children and teenagers
Take these steps to help prevent drug misuse in your children and teenagers:
Communicate. Talk to your children about the risks of drug use and misuse.
Listen. Be a good listener when your children talk about peer pressure, and be supportive of their
efforts to resist it.
Set a good example. Don't misuse alcohol or addictive drugs. Children of parents who misuse drugs
are at greater risk of drug addiction.
Strengthen the bond. Work on your relationship with your children. A strong, stable bond between
you and your child will reduce your child's risk of using or misusing drugs.
19. Personality: -
The definition of a personality trait is a
quality or characteristic that
distinguishes the character, action and
attitude of a person, animal or
geographical location.
Personality Traits:-
The definition of a personality trait is a
quality or characteristic that
distinguishes the character, action and
attitude of a person, animal or
geographical location.
These five categories are usually
described as follows.
20. 1.
Openness:-
This trait features characteristics such as
imagination and insight. People who are high
in this trait also tend to have a broad range of
interests. They are curious about the world
and other people and eager to learn new
things and enjoy new experiences.
People who are high in this trait tend to be
more adventurous and creative. People low
in this trait are often much more traditional
and may struggle with abstract thinking.
21. 2.
Conscientiousness:-
Standard features of this dimension
include high levels of thoughtfulness,
good impulse control, and goal-
directed behaviors.
Highly conscientious people tend to be
organized and mindful of details. They
plan ahead, think about how their
behavior affects others, and are
mindful of deadlines.
22. 3.
Extraversion:-
Extraversion (or extroversion) is characterized
by excitability, sociability, talkativeness,
assertiveness, and high amounts of
emotional expressiveness. People who
are high in extraversion are outgoing and
tend to gain energy in social situations. Being
around other people helps them feel
energized and excited.
People who are low in extraversion (or
introverted) tend to be more reserved and
have less energy to expend in social settings.
Social events can feel draining and introverts
often require a period of solitude and quiet in
order to "recharge."
23. 4.
Agreeableness:-
This personality dimension includes
attributes such as trust, altruism,
kindness, affection, and
other prosocial behaviors. People who
are high in agreeableness tend to be
more cooperative while those low in
this trait tend to be more competitive
and sometimes even manipulative.
24. 5.
Neuroticism:-
Neuroticism is a trait characterized by
sadness, moodiness, and emotional
instability. Individuals who are high in
this trait tend to experience mood
swings, anxiety, irritability, and sadness.
Those low in this trait tend to be more
stable and emotionally resilient.
25. What Is An Addictive Personality?
There’s an image that is often brought to mind when it comes to people who are
addicted to drugs or alcohol. In popular culture, this image has become the
subconscious image of the “addictive personality” – that is, the individual who is
considered all but destined to develop a substance addiction.
It’s not a surprise then that people who are worried about developing an addiction to
drugs or alcohol often try to find out what the traits of an addictive personality might
be. They want to know what to watch for, either to absolve themselves of the “addict”
label or to give themselves a reason never to start using drugs or alcohol to begin with.
However, the simple fact is that this whole idea is based on a mix of truth and fiction.
26. Traits of People with High Risk of Developing Addiction:-
Nevertheless, there are traits that can be recognized in people who have a higher
risk of becoming addicted to psychoactive substances rather than just being able to
moderate behavior around these types of substances. People with this higher
addiction risk include those who are:
Related to others who have developed addiction
Experiencing other mental health disorders
Adventurous and risk-taking
Disconnected and cautious
Obsessive and compulsive
Apathetic
Unable to self-regulate
27. Related to Others with Addiction:-
There is no question that genetic makeup has at least some effect on a person’s risk of developing
addiction. As described by many studies, including one from the journal Psychiatry, having a close family
member who is struggling with an addiction can make it more likely that an individual will develop an
addiction as well.
In fact, certain portions of the human genome have even been identified as having a direct connection to
specific addictions, according to a study in Nature. With this knowledge, it may be possible in the future
to more accurately identify just how likely a person is to develop addiction. Still, genetic potential is no
guarantee that an individual will develop addiction. Other complex, environmental factors also contribute
to the potential that a genetic predisposition will become a true substance use disorder.
How to Help a Person with High Addiction Risk:-
Various forms of behavioral therapies can help individuals struggling with these issues to learn to manage
their behaviors and acquire self-regulation skills that can moderate the addictive response. In addition,
for those who have already developed substance use problems, treatment programs can incorporate
these therapies with other demonstrated treatments. This approach may help the person safely stop
using drugs or alcohol and live a sober life as well as gain control over the various traits above.
Seeking out research-based, professional care can provide the individual with tools to understand and
manage these various traits, making recovery possible.
28. Limitation:-
There are several limitations to consider when interpreting the results. This sample is not representative of the
entire US population, but it was drawn from a probability sample that included a wide range of socio-economic
conditions. There may be some misclassification with the categories of never, former, and current-users. For
example, some individuals might be reluctant to disclose their illicit drug use. Some might not recall use in the
distant past. Categorizing current users based on self-reported behavior during the past year might be too
broad. There are marked differences in the frequency and quantity of drug use, but the relatively small number
of users in the present sample does not allow finer distinctions or the use of stricter criteria of addiction.
However, preliminary analyses using different classification criteria produced similar results, and the main
findings are mostly consistent with the literature. In addition to self-report ratings, future studies should use
multiple methods for assessing drug use and personality traits.
Most studies on drug use are conducted in adolescents and young adults, who are at life stages associated with
the greater use of drugs. We presented data from an older cohort, which has presumably passed the
experimentation age. While this contributes to the scarce literature on drug use in later parts of the lifespan, the
advantages of a lifespan perspective come at the cost of having fewer current users in this older cohort. In
addition, older cohorts only include the survivors among those who started drug use early in life, which may
introduce attrition and other biases. A review of the literature suggested that studies that involve older
populations (over the age of 30 years) report weaker association of Conscientiousness-related traits and drug
use.
29. Continued…
Finally, some of the findings may be culture-bound. For example, the results for smoking
closely replicate the findings we previously reported from another US cohort of similar age
but different socio-economic status. However, studies conducted in Europe and Japan have
found Extraversion associated with cigarette smoking. Such differences might reflect the
different social acceptance of smoking across countries.
30. CONCLUSION
Personality traits are associated with the outcome of therapeutic interventions. For example, several
studies found Neuroticism, anxiety, and depressive disorders related to poor treatment outcome for
nicotine dependence .Although we found systematic differences between the personality profiles of
substance users and non-users, there is substantial variability in both groups (e.g., not all smokers score
high on Neuroticism or low on Conscientiousness). Individual differences among substance abusers can
play an important role in the choice of treatment options. Recently, more attention has been focused on
personality trait effects on the efficacy of different treatment plans to tailor therapeutic interventions to
individual needs . More research is needed to fully evaluate how personality assessment can be useful in
the choice of treatment plans.
Although individual treatments might reduce the rate of drug abuse, public policy is an important tool for
cigarette smoking and other drug abuse prevention and cessation. Because of the low conscientiousness,
high impulsivity, and high emotional vulnerability of most drug users, relying on an individual's resources,
without therapeutic intervention, may produce limited results. Evidence-based interventions such as
safer injecting environments are an important adjunct which can reduce drug-related harm. In the case
of cigarette smoking, societal pressure in the form of high taxation, restriction in advertising, and
interdiction of smoking in public places are cost-effective programs that are reducing the prevalence of
smoking.
