Supervisors info:
Παπαρρηγόπουλος Θωμάς, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Τζαβέλλας Ηλίας, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Τριανταφύλλου Καλλιόπη, Επιστημονική Συνεργάτις, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Introduction: Recently the use of cocaine has been normalised, as it occurs occasionally in various social contexts. Certain personality traits have been identified in recreational cocaine users, mainly impulsivity, sensation and novelty seeking, extraversion, low levels of cooperativeness and conscientiousness, machiavellianism, chronic stress, and depressive symptoms.
Aim: The purpose of this research is to outline the profile of people who use cocaine recreationally. Specifically, the objectives of the study are: 1) the description of their demographic characteristics, 2) the observation of social factors related to the context and occasions of use and, primarily, 3) the identification of additional personality traits.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 169 subjects in total, of which 76 were recreational cocaine users, 17 were dependent cocaine users and 76 were non-users. Regarding the non-users, the questionnaires were administered electronically through the Google forms platform. Recreational cocaine users were collected from private mental health facilities in Athens and online social media pages, while dependent users were collected from 18 Ano facilities in Athens. The Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4 (PDQ-4+) and the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire (HDHQ) were administered to identify personality traits, while recreational and dependent cocaine users were asked additionally to answer questions about frequency and context of use. Also, the entire sample was given a demographic information questionnaire.
Results: It was found that the largest percentage of recreational cocaine users in the sample are men (64,5%), live in Athens (52,6%) and have an average age of 30 years. Most of them are 5 university graduates (52,6%) and work as private employees (60,5%), while the vast majority of them are single (81,6%). The main administration route of the substance in this group is intranasal cocaine (snorting/sniffing), while entertainment venues and music festivals were mentioned as the most common place of use. In terms of personality traits, antisocial (2,5±1,7) and borderline personality elements (3,4±1,9), paranoid (3,3±1,8) and passive-aggressive (2,7±1,7), introverted (10,2±3,6) and extroverted aggression (15,9±4,6).
Conclusions: The present study is a first attempt to investigate personality traits in recreational cocaine users. The resulting findings reveal that recreational cocaine users often share common personality traits with dependent cocaine users, while it is emphasized that recreational use does not necessarily lead to addiction. At the same time, the identification of specific personality characteristics in those individuals helps in the early identification, prevention and treatment of behaviors related to cocaine use.
Keywords:
Cocaine, Recreational cocaine users, Dependent cocaine users, Personality, Traits
