Authors
Background
Estimating individual risk factors for alcohol inebriation can provide important information and guidance for practitioners and organizations in identifying young adolescents at higher risk of dysfunctional development regarding alcohol problems and mental health problems. Personality is an important predictor for inebriation; however, the interacting effects of internalizing and externalizing problems, low well-being and gender on the relation of personality and inebriation is still not investigated among young adolescents. Hence, the aim of this study was to predict alcohol inebriation in early adolescence by a biopsychosocial model of personality traits (i.e. temperament and character dimensions). The mediation of mental health factors, such as, co-occurring internalizing and externalizing problems plus well-being and potential gender-specific patterns among young adolescents were also investigated.
Method
Self-reported data from a general population of 853 adolescents (56 % girls) in Sweden, aged 13-15 years, from the Longitudinal Research on Development In Adolescence (LoRDIA) program were used. The Swedish self-report version of the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (JTCI) was used to assess the child’s personality and the Swedish self-report version of The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-S) mapped emotional and behavioral problems. Predictions from temperament and character dimensions to alcohol inebriation and the mediating effects of mental health were estimated by means of logistic regression and generalized structural equation modelling (SEM). Separated gender analyses were performed throughout the study to reveal potential gender-specific patterns.
Results
Externalizing mental health problems, the temperament dimension Novelty Seeking and the character dimension Cooperativeness had all independent effects on alcohol inebriation for both genders. In addition, the temperamentent Harm Avoidance among girls and Internalizing mental health problems among boys also showed indepentent effects. Novelty Seeking also had an indirect effect through externalizing problems, as well as the character dimension Self-Directedness. Harm Avoidance and Self-Directedness had indirect negative effects through internalizing problems only for boys.
Conclusion
The combination of an immature character (low Self-directedness and low Cooperativeness) with an extreme temperament profile (high Novelty Seeking and low Harm Avoidance) was a predictor of inebriation across gender, both directly and indirectly through mental health. One should especially encourage the development of character dimensions as they are both positively associated to good mental health and negatively linked to norm-breaking behavior such as early inebriation over time. This study contributes with valuable information about gender-specific considerations when developing and conducting preventative interventions targeting psychological risk and resilience factors for early alcohol inebriation among young adolescents.
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