Effects of Personality Traits on Predicting Substance Dependence in University Students

Abstract

College students who do not successfully complete undergraduate studies by obtaining

bachelor’s degrees have much lower average lifetime earnings than college students who do

obtain bachelor’s degrees. Research suggests that one of the primary reasons for students

dropping out or flunking out of undergraduate school is excessive substance use. This study

used logistic regression analysis to determine the extent to which individual undergraduate

students’ scores for personality traits as measured in scales for psychoticism, extraversion, and

neuroticism may predict probability of having a substance dependence disorder. A fourth

predictor variable was each student’s lie score on the same assessment. This study sought to

determine how well the model classified cases for which the outcome was unknown, and to

identify bivariate correlations among the four predictor variables. The results of this study

revealed that of the four predictor variables, only extraversion was a statistically significant predictor of high probability of having a substance dependence disorder. The correct

classification of 73% of cases affirmed that overall, the model was effective at classifying cases

into one group or the other for which the outcome was unknown when all four predictor

variables were included simultaneously. An unexpected bivariate correlation revealed in this

study was that moderate, negative coefficients were identified for the correlation between

psychoticism and lying.