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Does personality predict information seeking about drugs? Using the Big 5 to profile personality traits of college students who actively seek information about marijuana
Methods: Participants ages 18-25 (N=633) and enrolled in a large US university participated in an online survey conducted between October 2012 and December 2013. Personality traits were assessed using a validated abbreviated measure of the Big 5. The Big 5 is a widely used framework measuring personality across five dimensions: Conscientiousness, openness to experience, neuroticism, extraversion, and agreeableness.
Results: Agreeableness and neuroticism were positively associated with information seeking about marijuana, accounting for a range of other covariates. The estimated odds of seeking information about marijuana were 1.2 times as high among participants scoring highly in agreeableness [OR = 1.24 (95% CI: 1.01-1.54)]. Similarly, the odds of seeking information about marijuana were 1.2 times as high among participants scoring highly in neuroticism [OR = 1.22 (95% CI: 1.04-1.43)]. Neuroticism moderated the effect of agreeableness on likelihood of seeking marijuana-related information. Among respondents low in agreeableness, with increased levels of neuroticism the predicted likelihood of seeking marijuana-related information increased from 0.10 (95% CI: 0.05 to 0.15) to 0.36(95% CI: 0.29 to 0.43).
Conclusions: Future interventions may consider tailoring materials to reflect the personality profile of information seekers, particularly those who experience high levels of anxiety, or are motivated to appear agreeable to others.
Learning Areas:
Communication and informaticsEpidemiology
Social and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Describe the relationship between drug-related information seeking and Big 5 personality traits.
Explore the personality traits that distinguish drug-related information seekers from non-seekers.
Discuss ways in which drug prevention efforts could apply knowledge about personality traits to tailor interventions to at-risk young adults.
Keyword(s): Drug Abuse
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am Masters student in the Health and Risk Communication Program of the College of Communication at Michigan State University. This paper is jointly written with my co-authors who are experts in information seeking behavior.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.