Substance Use among Students: Examining the Effects of Psychological Problems and the Five Dimensions of Personality Traits. Issue 9 (2nd September 2022) - Boateng, Francis D.
ABSTRACT: The primary purpose of this study was to examine substance use among university students to identify factors that influence the use and abuse of substances. Specifically, we explored the influence of psychological and personality traits on students' use of substances. Two research questions guided this study: do psychological problems increase an individual's risk of using substances such as drugs and alcohol? and do personality traits increase the risk of using substances? To address these questions, we obtained data from students attending one of the largest public universities in the Southern region of the United States. Using multivariate analytical strategies, the study made several important observations. First, drug use and alcohol use were less frequent among the study sample. Second, both psychological issues and personality traits predicted students' drug and alcohol use, though the specific effects vary slightly. Policy implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.