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Personality Traits and Drinking Motives Predict Alcohol Misuse Among Canadian Aboriginal Youth

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Abstract

This study tested the association between personality traits (i.e., anxiety sensitivity, sensation seeking, impulsivity, and hopelessness; as measured by the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (Woicik et al. in Addictive Behaviors 34:1042–1055, 2009)), drinking motives (i.e., enhancement, social, coping, and conformity; as measured by the Drinking Motives Questionnaire—Revised (Cooper in Psychological Assessment 6:117–128, 1994)), and problematic patterns of alcohol use in 191 Canadian Aboriginal youth. Confirmatory factor analyses provided support for a three-factor model of drinking motives. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that personality traits independently predicted motives for alcohol use: anxiety sensitivity predicted conformity motivated drinking; sensation seeking and impulsivity predicted enhancement motivated drinking; and hopelessness predicted coping motivated drinking. In addition, personality traits and drinking motives predicted problematic patterns of alcohol misuse: sensation seeking, hopelessness, and enhancement motives predicted heavy episodic drinking, while all personality traits and all drinking motives (save conformity) predicted alcohol-related problems. These findings suggest that specific personality traits in Canadian Aboriginal youth can explain specific reasons for drinking and may represent appropriate targets for intervention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, and Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, P7B5E1

    Christopher J. Mushquash

  2. Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Sherry H. Stewart

  3. Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Aislin R. Mushquash, M. Nancy Comeau & Patrick J. McGrath

  4. Departments of Psychology, Pediatrics and Psychiatry, IWK Health Centre and Capital District Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Patrick J. McGrath

Authors
  1. Christopher J. Mushquash
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  2. Sherry H. Stewart
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  3. Aislin R. Mushquash
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  4. M. Nancy Comeau
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  5. Patrick J. McGrath
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Correspondence to Christopher J. Mushquash.

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Mushquash, C.J., Stewart, S.H., Mushquash, A.R. et al. Personality Traits and Drinking Motives Predict Alcohol Misuse Among Canadian Aboriginal Youth. Int J Ment Health Addiction 12, 270–282 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-013-9451-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-013-9451-4

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