Exploring the relationships between self-descriptive and behavioural correlates of personality in the drinking behaviour of young adults

The purpose of the current study was to explore the personality correlates that underlie the problematic drinking patterns of young adults, by employing a multimodal approach to examine the relationship between personality and alcohol use. The sample comprised 72 Victorian university students, with 19 males and 53 females (M = 20.57 years, SD = 2.68). The current study was divided into two phases; firstly, participants completed an online questionnaire assessing personality styles, alcohol use, and psychological distress, whilst the second phase consisted of a behavioural risk-task (Balloon Analogue Risk-Task; BART). As hypothesised, whilst controlling for psychological distress; impulsivity, sensation-seeking, and reward sensitivity were significantly higher in hazardous, than non-hazardous drinkers. However, risk-taking propensity as indexed by performance on the BART did not significantly differ across drinking behaviour. Based upon the findings of Lejuez et al. (2003a), a logistical regression was performed to analyse ability of a behavioural and self-report measures to predict drinking behaviour status (i.e., hazardous versus non-hazardous). The findings demonstrated that the four personality measures correctly predicted 72% of all cases (22% better than chance alone). However, the results showed that sensation-seeking was the only significant predictor of hazardous drinking styles. Conclusions were discussed in context of future research and implications of the current study.