Personality traits of alcohol and other drug users in Cape Town, South Africa

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dc.contributor.authorHendrickson, Blake Edwarden_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-01-26T12:04:38Z
dc.date.available2016-01-26T12:04:38Z
dc.date.issued2015en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical referencesen_ZA
dc.description.abstractThe Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) is a relatively new questionnaire that assesses individual personality risk for substance-related problems. Preliminary findings have indicated that the SURPS is a useful measure for identifying characteristics predisposing some individuals to alcohol and other drug (AOD) use. High levels of hopelessness, anxiety sensitivity, sensation seeking, and impulsivity are each associated with specific patterns of substance use caused by underlying motivational susceptibilities. Furthermore, incorporating these traits into tailored prevention and treatment efforts have shown value in other countries. The present study enrolled a community sample in Cape Town, South Africa and asked respondents about their demographics, history of AOD use, personality as measured by the SURPS, and other mental health indicators. This information was used to identify personality risks in the local population and validate the utility of the SURPS for the first time in Sub-Saharan Africa. Results found that sensation seekers had a significantly higher risk for alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, cocaine, and hallucinogen use compared to other personality groups and controls. As expected, respondents demonstrating anxiety sensitivity also showed high-risk use of alcohol, but less high-risk illicit drug use . Finally, the hopelessness group exhibited a higher risk for opioid use but overall, hopelessness and impulsivity had little impact on concurrent substance use, which contrasts with other literature. Unlike findings from mostly European and North American samples that indicate generalizability, this study did not find structural or concurrent validity for the SURPS. This provides evidence against it being adopted as a culturally appropriate assessment tool in a diverse South African population.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationHendrickson, B. E. (2015). <i>Personality traits of alcohol and other drug users in Cape Town, South Africa</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Public Health and Family Medicine. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16568en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationHendrickson, Blake Edward. <i>"Personality traits of alcohol and other drug users in Cape Town, South Africa."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Public Health and Family Medicine, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16568en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationHendrickson, B. 2015. Personality traits of alcohol and other drug users in Cape Town, South Africa. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Hendrickson, Blake Edward AB - The Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) is a relatively new questionnaire that assesses individual personality risk for substance-related problems. Preliminary findings have indicated that the SURPS is a useful measure for identifying characteristics predisposing some individuals to alcohol and other drug (AOD) use. High levels of hopelessness, anxiety sensitivity, sensation seeking, and impulsivity are each associated with specific patterns of substance use caused by underlying motivational susceptibilities. Furthermore, incorporating these traits into tailored prevention and treatment efforts have shown value in other countries. The present study enrolled a community sample in Cape Town, South Africa and asked respondents about their demographics, history of AOD use, personality as measured by the SURPS, and other mental health indicators. This information was used to identify personality risks in the local population and validate the utility of the SURPS for the first time in Sub-Saharan Africa. Results found that sensation seekers had a significantly higher risk for alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, cocaine, and hallucinogen use compared to other personality groups and controls. As expected, respondents demonstrating anxiety sensitivity also showed high-risk use of alcohol, but less high-risk illicit drug use . Finally, the hopelessness group exhibited a higher risk for opioid use but overall, hopelessness and impulsivity had little impact on concurrent substance use, which contrasts with other literature. Unlike findings from mostly European and North American samples that indicate generalizability, this study did not find structural or concurrent validity for the SURPS. This provides evidence against it being adopted as a culturally appropriate assessment tool in a diverse South African population. DA - 2015 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2015 T1 - Personality traits of alcohol and other drug users in Cape Town, South Africa TI - Personality traits of alcohol and other drug users in Cape Town, South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16568 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/16568
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationHendrickson BE. Personality traits of alcohol and other drug users in Cape Town, South Africa. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Public Health and Family Medicine, 2015 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16568en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Public Health and Family Medicineen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherPublic Healthen_ZA
dc.subject.otherEpidemiology and Biostatisticsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherSubstance abuseen_ZA
dc.titlePersonality traits of alcohol and other drug users in Cape Town, South Africaen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMPHen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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