Is the ‘Addictive Personality’ Merely Delinquency?

Abstract

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was administered to 210 adolescents whose drug use ranged from using only licit drugs to the injection of opiates. The personality traits of drug users differed significantly between groups and between sexes. For both sexes, drug users scored significantly higher than non-users on a number of MMPI scales. For females, neuroticism (as measured by elevations on the hypocondriasis, depression and hysteria scales) was more important in predicting the use of licit drugs and cannabis, with psychopathic deviance and mania being more important in predicting other illicit drugs. For males, elevated psychopathic deviance and mania scale scores were strongly associated with extent of drug use. The possibility that these two scales only measure “delinquency” rather than a more permanent personality type is discussed.

Key Words:

• MMPI
• Psychopathic deviance
• delinquency