Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T04:38:51.107Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Contribution of the Five Factors of Personality and Peers on Adolescent Alcohol Use: A Cross-National Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 November 2018

Sígrid Gallego
Affiliation:
Universitat Jaume I (Spain)
Laura Mezquita
Affiliation:
Universitat Jaume I (Spain)
Jorge Moya-Higueras
Affiliation:
Universitat de Lleida (Spain)
Generós Ortet*
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (Spain)
Manuel I. Ibáñez
Affiliation:
Universitat Jaume I (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Generós Ortet. Universitat Jaume I. Departament de Psicologia Bàsica, Clínicai Psicobiologia. 12071 Castelló de la Plana (Spain). E-mail: ortet@uji.es

Abstract

Personality characteristics such as extraversion, low agreeableness and low conscientiousness are relevant for alcohol use during adolescence. In addition, having friends who use alcohol is one of the strongest predictors of adolescent alcohol consumption and its negative outcomes. The selection model posits that friends display similar alcohol consumption when their friendships are formed on the basis of common characteristics as, among others, personality. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the mediation role of peers in the association between the five-factor model of personality and adolescent alcohol use in two cultures. One hundred and twenty Scottish and 221 Spanish respondents, all aged 12-15 years, answered the Alcohol Intake Scale (AIS). Adolescents were asked about the alcohol used at the weekend and also about the alcohol consumed by their friends. Scottish adolescents’ personality was measured by the NEO Personality Inventory-3 (NEO–PI–3). The Junior Spanish version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (JS NEO) was used to assess personality in the Spanish sample. Low agreeableness and low conscientiousness correlated with own alcohol quantity in both countries. We performed an independent structural equation modeling for each country. Extraversion (β = .205, p < .05) and low agreeableness (β = –.196, p < .01) for Scottish adolescents, and low conscientiousness (β = –.175, p < .05) for Spanish youths, predicted alcohol use through peer alcohol consumption at weekends. These findings support the relevance of personality traits and peer affiliation in relation to alcohol consumption in adolescence.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad/FEDER, PSI2015–67766–R. Generalitat Valenciana, GV/2016/158

How to cite this article:

Gallego, S., Mezquita, L., Moya-Higueras, J., Ortet, G., & Ibáñez, M. I. (2018). Contribution of the five factors of personality and peers on adolescent alcohol use: A cross-national study. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 21. e58. Doi:10.1017/sjp.2018.63.

References

Bauman, K. E., & Ennett, S. T. (1996). On the importance of peer influence for adolescent drug use: Commonly neglected considerations. Addiction, 91, 185198. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.1996.9121852.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boyle, G. J., Matthews, G., & Saklofske, D. H. (2008). Personality theories and models: An overview. In Boyle, G. J., Matthews, G., & Saklofske, D. H. (Eds.), Personality theory and assessment. Personality theories and models (Vol. 1, pp. 129). London, UK: Sage.Google Scholar
Byrne, B. M. (2006). Structural equation modeling with EQS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Ciairano, S., Bosma, H. A., Miceli, R., & Settanni, M. (2008). Adolescent substance uses in two European countries: Relationships with psychosocial adjustment, peers, and activities. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 8, 119138.Google Scholar
Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 155159. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.155CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Espejo, B., Cortés, M. T., Martín del Río, B., Giménez, J. A., & Gómez, C. (2012). Traits that define the different alcohol intensive consume type during the practice of “botellón”. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 15, 256264. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_SJOP.2012.v15.n1.37318CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Department of Health (2016). UK Chief Medical Officers’ Low Risk Drinking Guidelines. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/545937/UK_CMOs__report.pdfGoogle Scholar
Delegación del Gobierno para el Plan Nacional sobre Drogas (DGPNSD) (2016). Informe de la encuesta estatal sobre uso de drogas en estudiantes de enseñanzas secundarias (estudes) 2014/15 [Report of the national survey on drug use in high school students (estudes) 2014/15]. Retrieved from https://www.fundadeps.org/actividades/documentos/655/2016_ESTUDES_2014-2015.pdfGoogle Scholar
Dick, D. M., Aliev, F., Latendresse, S. J., Hickman, M., Heron, J., Macleod, J., … Kendler, K. S. (2013). Adolescent alcohol use is predicted by childhood temperament factors before age 5, with mediation through personality and peers. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 37, 2182117. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.12206CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Edwards, A. C., Maes, H. H., Prescott, C. A., & Kendler, K. S. (2015). Multiple mechanisms influencing the relationship between alcohol consumption and peer alcohol use. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 39, 324332. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.12624CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) (2016). ESPAD Report 2015. Results from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs. Retrieved from http://www.espad.org/sites/espad.org/files/ESPAD_report_2015.pdfGoogle Scholar
Fairbairn, C. E., Sayette, M. A., Wright, A. G. C., Levine, J. M., Cohn, J. F., & Creswell, K. G. (2015). Extraversion and the rewarding effects of alcohol in a social context. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 124, 660673. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000024CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Golpe, S., Isorna, M., Barreiro, C., Braña, T., & Rial, A. (2017). Binge drinking among adolescents: Prevalence, risk practices and related variables. Adicciones, 29, 256267.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grigsby, T. J., Forster, M., Unger, J. B., & Sussman, S. (2016). Predictors of alcohol-related negative consequences in adolescents: A systematic review of the literature and implications for future research. Journal of Adolescence, 48, 1835. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.01.006CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hakulinen, C., & Jokela, M. (2018). Alcohol use and personality trait change: Pooled analysis of six cohort studies. Psychological Medicine, 18. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291718000636CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hakulinen, C., Elovainio, M., Batty, G. D., Virtanen, M., Kivimäki, M., & Jokela, M. (2015). Personality and alcohol consumption: Pooled analysis of 72,949 adults from eight cohort studies. Drug Alcohol Dependence, 151, 110114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.03.008CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harden, K. P., Hill, J. E., Turkheimer, E., & Emery, R. E. (2008). Gene-environment correlation and interaction in peer effects on adolescent alcohol and tobacco use. Behavior Genetics, 38, 339347. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-008-9202-7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ibáñez, M. I., Camacho, L., Mezquita, L., Villa, H., Moya-Higueras, J., & Ortet, G. (2015). Alcohol expectancies mediate and moderate the associations between Big Five personality traits and adolescent alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Frontiers in Psychology, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01838CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (2016). Drinking guidelines: General population. Retrieved from http://www.iard.org/policy-tables/drinking-guidelines-general-populationGoogle Scholar
Knecht, A. B., Weesie, J., Burk, W. J., & Steglich, C. (2010). Friendship and alcohol use in early adolescence: A multilevel social network approach. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21, 475487. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00685.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kotov, R., Gamez, W., Schmidt, F., & Watson, D. (2010). Linking “big” personality traits to anxiety, depressive, and substance use disorders: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 768821. http://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0020327CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Malouff, J. M., Thorsteinsson, E. B., Rooke, S. E., & Schutte, N. S. (2007). Alcohol involvement and the Five-Factor Model of personality: A meta-analysis. Journal of Drug Education, 37, 277294.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (2010). NEO Inventories for the NEO Personality Inventory–3 (NEO–PI–3), NEO Five-Factor Inventory–3 (NEO–FFI–3), NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R): Professional manual. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.Google Scholar
Mezquita, L., Ibáñez, M. I., Moya, J., Villa, H., & Ortet, G. (2014). A longitudinal examination of different etiological pathways to alcohol use and misuse. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 38, 17701779. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.12419CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ministerio de Salud, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad (2016). Healthy lifestyles: Risky and harmful alcohol consumption. Retrieved from http://www.estilosdevidasaludable.msssi.gob.es/en/consumo/queSaber/home.htmGoogle Scholar
Mongan, D., & Long, J. (2015). Standard drink measures throughout Europe. People’s understanding of standard drinks and their use in drinking guidelines, alcohol survey and labeling. Retrieved from Reducing Alcohol Related Harm website: http://www.rarha.eu/Resources/Deliverables/Lists/Deliverables/Attachments/14/WP5BackgroundpaperStandarddrinkmeasuresHRB.pdfGoogle Scholar
Morizot, J. (2014). Construct validity of adolescents’ self-reported Big Five personality traits: Importance of conceptual breadth and initial validation of a short measure. Assessment, 21, 580606. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191114524015CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Health Service (2015). Alcohol misuse. Retrieved from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/alcohol-misuse/Google Scholar
Ortet, G., Ibáñez, M. I., Moya, J., Villa, H., Viruela, A., & Mezquita, L. (2012). Assessing the five factors of personality in adolescents: The junior version of the Spanish NEO-PI-R. Assessment, 19, 114130. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191111410166CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Osgood, D. W., Ragan, D. T., Wallace, L., Gest, S. D., Feinberg, M. E., & Moody, J. (2013). Peers and the emergence of alcohol use: Influence and selection processes in adolescent friendship networks. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 23, 500512. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12059CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Room, R. (2001). Intoxication and bad behavior: Understanding cultural differences in the link. Social Science & Medicine, 53, 189198. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00330-0CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
The Scottish Government (2016). Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS). Alcohol Report (2015). Retrieved from http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0050/00508470.pdfGoogle Scholar
Soellner, R., Göbel, K., Scheithauer, H., Bräker, A.-B. (2014). Alcohol use of adolescents from 25 European countries. Journal of Public Health, 22, 5765. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-013-0593-4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stautz, K., & Cooper, A. (2013). Impulsivity-related personality traits and adolescent alcohol use: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 33, 574592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.03.003CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Windle, M., (2016). Drinking over the lifespan: Focus on early adolescents and youth. Alcohol Research: Current Reviews, 38, 95101.Google ScholarPubMed