Relations between alcohol use, personality and stress

Abstract The purpose of this research was to examine the relations between alcohol use, personality and stress with alcohol use as a dependent variable. The data was collected through an online survey on Facebook. The number of participants were 593, 73% of whom were women and 22,4% were men, from ages 18-67+. Participants were asked to answer questions on the following topics; education, employment, and questions from three standardized questionnaires, the PSS-10 (Short Form Perceived Stress Scale), Personality traits, BFI-2-S (Short Form of The Big Five Inventory-2-S) and the AUDIT (The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test). After reviewing the data, a factor analysis was conducted which pointed to three traits: Negative Emotionality, Extraversion and Open-Mindedness. The hierarchical regression analysis revealed that gender, education, occupation, personality traits and stress factors are closely linked with alcohol use disorder (F(8,584) = 8,74; p < 0,001). Perceiving stress had a significant association to alcohol use disorder, however it became insignificant by adding personality traits to the analysis. Differences were observed between genders where alcohol use was significant, as men tend to have higher scores on AUDIT and showed more perseverance than women. Women, on the other hand, tend to perceive higher levels of stress than men. Our conclusion suggests that individuals who score high on the PSS are at more risk for alcohol use disorder and that personality traits make a difference. Keywords: Alcohol use, Personality, Stress, Gender differences.Útdráttur Í þessari rannsókn vildum við rannsaka samband á milli áfengisneyslu, persónuleika og streitu með áfengisneyslu sem háða breytu. Gögnunum var safnað í gegnum netkönnun á Facebook. Þátttakendur voru 593, 73% konur og 22,4% karlmenn á aldrinum 18-67+. Spurt var um eftirfarandi; menntun, atvinnu og spurningum úr þremur stöðluðum spurningalistum um streitu, PSS-10 (Short Form Perceived Stress Scale), persónuleika, BFI-2-S (Short Form of The Big Five Inventory-2-S) og áfengisnotkun, AUDIT (The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test). Eftir hreinsun á gögnunum var gerð þáttagreining sem sýndi þrjá þætti: Taugaveiklun (Negative Emotionality), Úthverfa (Extraversion) og Víðsýni (Open-Mindedness). Aðhvarfsgreining sýndi að kyn, menntun, atvinnustaða, persónu- og streituþættir hafa marktæk tengsl við hærra áfengisskor (F(8, 584) = 8,74; p < 0,001). Upplifun á streitu hafði einnig marktæk tengsl við hærra áfengisskor, hins vegar urðu tengslin ómarktæk þegar persónuleika þáttum var bætt við greininguna. Munur á milli kynja sýndi fram á að hærra skor á AUDIT var marktækt, þar sem karlmenn skora hærra á áfengisneyslu en konur. Konur virðast upplifa meiri streitu og karlmenn sýndu hærra skor á undirþættinum þrautseigja. Okkar ályktun er sú að einstaklingar sem skora hátt á PSS streitu skalanum eru líklegri til þess að þróa með sér áfengisröskun og að persónuleikaþættir hafa áhrif. Keywords: Alcohol use, Personality, Stress, Gender differences