Past or Personality: Influences of Parental Substance Use and Personality on Substance Use Behaviors in Adulthood

Substance use disorders pose a significant challenge for public health. A multitude of factors, from genetics to environment, have been identified as contributing to maladaptive substance use. While social processes, such as childhood environments and intrapersonal factors, have been explored as contributing, these investigations typically examine these influences independently and focus on childhood or adolescence. The current study explored experiences with parental substance use and measurements of adult personality on substance use outcomes in adulthood.  383 adults (M = 29.20 years old, SD = 11.39) responded to items from the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), the Big Five Inventory (BFI) personality measures, and questions about experiences with parental substance use. Findings from this study show that parental substance use and personality both have notable roles in substance use outcomes. This research may help to further clarify environmental and intrapersonal risks that influence the trajectory of these disorders.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), the use and misuse of illegal drugs, prescription drugs, alcohol, and tobacco pose a significant public health crisis [1]. Individuals struggling with substance-related disorders can experience a wide range of negative life outcomes. This includes more long-term physical and mental health issues, higher mortality rates, earlier deaths, and a higher likelihood of engaging in criminal behavior [2, 3]. Deaths linked to substance use overdoses have seen both increases and decreases depending on the classification of drugs in the United States since 2018 [4]. Society as a whole is also immensely impacted by the costs associated with maladaptive drug use and its related disorders.  The misuse of substances has been correlated with adverse effects on financial, safety, and health outcomes within communities [5]. This encompasses reduced productivity and heightened levels of criminal activity associated with the typical drug-related lifestyles. In the United States, societal costs stemming from illicit substance use on crime, health, and productivity have been found to exceed 100 billion dollars [6]. To begin addressing and preventing this pervasive impact, it is necessary to understand the factors that may predict and precipitate harmful drug use behaviors. 

The consequences of substance misuse can be seen in all aspects of individual and social functioning, including psychosocial, familial, and political spheres. Previous research has identified some factors like parental influences and environmental effects [7] as well as enduring personality traits linked to increased risk of dysfunctional substance use behaviors in adulthood [8]. Children raised in developmental environments that involve parents who use substances are often negatively impacted. Substance-using parents tend to be poorer-functioning caregivers overall [9]. This includes exposing their children to more adverse childhood experiences [10-12] and being less active in the monitoring of their children’s activities [13, 14]. Enduring temperaments, like personality traits, may also influence the presentation of substance use disorders through increasing inclinations for risk-taking behaviors and negative emotionality, while decreasing constraint and positive emotionality [8]. The existing research largely focuses on exploring individual influences on substance use rather than collectively examining their overall impact. This raises unresolved questions about how these factors interact to influence adult substance use behaviors.

As substance misuse trends and risks continue to evolve, expanding our knowledge regarding the influences on maladaptive use behaviors is essential. The specific aim of this study was to explore the comparative magnitude of experiences with parental substance use and personality traits on substance misuse behaviors. This study specifically aimed to explore the comparative importance of experiences with parental substance use and personality traits on substance use outcomes. Increasing the breadth of knowledge available regarding what predicts and precipitates substance misuse could positively impact future research, mental health practices, community resources, and advocacy efforts addressing this widespread issue.

The Influence of Parental Substance Use 

Close familial relationships during childhood may assist in shaping an individual's value systems, beliefs, and attitudes. Research has consistently shown that parental substance use significantly increases the risk of substance use in children [12, 15, 16]. Adverse childhood experiences resulting from poor parenting practices have been linked to several negative outcomes for children of substance users, with potential impacts extending into adulthood [11, 17]. Studies have found that adolescent children of alcoholics are more likely to engage in drug use and dependency compared to children without alcoholic parents [13]. Furthermore, young adults are more inclined to use the same substances as their parents [16]. Thus, these early childhood exposures to substance use behaviors can set the foundation for adverse substance use outcomes later in life.

In addition to parental substance use and parenting practices, relational dynamics associated with the parenting styles of substance users have been connected to a higher risk of childhood substance use. While both maternal and paternal influences have been associated with substance use, maternal influence may be particularly influential in some cases [10, 18, 19]. Specifically, research has shown that maternal marital conflict behavior can have a significant impact on children, leading to higher levels of compulsivity, emotional instability, disagreeableness, and introversion. Alcoholic mothers have also demonstrated lower levels of parental monitoring, which has been linked to children affiliating with peer groups engaged in drug use [10,13]. Block et al. [20] found that for girls, unstructured home environments that promoted little encouragement to achieve were associated with subsequent drug use. Parental alcoholism has also been associated with negative affect, which in turn provides an increased risk for poorer substance use outcomes [13, 21]. The parental relationship is also important in setting an example for modeling behavior. Adolescents who admire their parents may be at higher risk for substance misuse due to mirroring their parents’ favorable attitudes toward drugs [22]. Additional parent-child relational risks also include low parental support [23], parental conflict avoidance [11], more negative consequences in discipline [17, 21], and parental tolerance of drugs [22]. Research clearly demonstrates that various aspects of parental influence and environment can increase the risk of substance use in childhood and adolescence. 

The existing science indicates that early relational and environmental factors can have a detrimental effect on development and increase the likelihood of substance use [7, 9-23]. Most studies have focused on the effect of parental substance use on children and adolescents in isolation.  However, predicting substance-related disorders in adulthood necessitates considering a multitude of factors, including intrapersonal development and adult personality [8].  The full extent of the impact of experiences with parental substance use within the context of other psychosocial and intrapersonal factors is still not thoroughly understood. Adult personality may play an essential role in influencing substance use behaviors. Consequently, our research aims to investigate how the collective influence of these factors impacts substance use outcomes.

The Influence of Personality 

Personality is commonly organized into the “Big Five” model of enduring characteristics or traits that include neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness [24]. Personality development in childhood has strong connections to adult personality and is predictive of important life outcomes, including physical and mental health and interpersonal relationship success [25]. Certain facets of personality have been consistently associated with increased substance use in adulthood [8, 26-31]. Harmful substance use outcomes are commonly associated with low conscientiousness, high neuroticism, and occasionally high extraversion. Additionally, elevated levels of openness have been specifically associated with increased marijuana use [8, 29]. When examining common addictive disorders, like alcohol use disorder, substance use disorder, nicotine use disorder, and cannabis use disorder, all were found to be associated with low conscientiousness, high neuroticism, and low agreeableness [8]. Thus, dimensions of personality have been confirmed as a reliable predictor of substance use behaviors and connected to substance-related disorders. 

Understanding the significant impact of personality on substance use and behaviors associated with addiction and recovery is vital. Research has consistently shown that personality traits such as neuroticism and conscientiousness are closely linked to specific patterns of substance use [29]. For instance, current nicotine smokers tend to exhibit higher levels of neuroticism and lower levels of conscientiousness compared to non-smokers. Similarly, individuals using cocaine and heroin also demonstrate higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness levels than non-users [29]. Former cocaine users show lower conscientiousness without significant differences in neuroticism compared to current users. Moreover, individuals with low conscientiousness and high levels of neuroticism or extraversion are more prone to engaging in substance use and other risky behaviors [31]. Notably, enduring personality traits remain consistent during active addiction and recovery, with individuals using the same substances and those in recovery from the same substances displaying similar personality factors. This highlights the integral role of personality assessment and intervention in addressing substance use and the associated behaviors.

Personality components outside of the “Big Five” taxonomy have also been shown to predict substance use. The examination of temperament dimensions such as novelty seeking, harm avoidance, reward dependence, and persistence revealed that higher novelty seeking, lower harm avoidance, and lower persistence were associated with longer and earlier substance use [32]. Impulsive and thrill-seeking behaviors define novelty-seeking, while harm avoidance is linked to cautious and pessimistic tendencies. Reward dependence is associated with forming attachments and sentimentality, while persistence is described as perseverance and ambition [32]. These dimensions can be related to traits in the “Big Five” personality model, such as low conscientiousness, high neuroticism, and low agreeableness. Therefore, the traits outside of the Big Five classification still capture behavioral facets of the higher-order traits of the Big Five, which demonstrates consistency among these personality findings.

According to Waddell et al. [12], within three generations of parental substance abuse, children exhibited heightened anger reactivity and increased negative urgency (impulsivity) which may be connected to later adverse outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Research on personality and substance use overall underscores the prominent role of personality traits in influencing not only substance use but also the specific types of substances used, as well as changes in substance use patterns over time. By incorporating personality measures into focused investigations of experiences with parental substance use behaviors, researchers can effectively compare findings and highlight their comparative influence.

The Present Study

 Parental substance use and personality have been widely researched regarding their relation and ability to predict substance use behaviors. Previous literature largely supports components of both parental substance use [10, 12, 15, 16] and individual personality [8, 26, 29-31] as associated with substance use outcomes. However, identifying and exploring the influence of parental behavior and personality has mostly been investigated in child and adolescent populations [11, 17, 18, 22, 23]. Moreover, these examinations typically exclude inquiries into the collective impact of both experiences with parental substance use and personality in the prediction of substance use outcomes. To further scientific knowledge, questions about the nature of these associations for adults must be assessed.

The primary aim of this study is to delve into the influence of experiences with parental substance use and the Big Five personality traits on substance use behaviors in adults. By focusing on adults, we seek to gain clearer insights into how these factors impact substance use outcomes in this demographic. Although existing research highlights the impact of parental influences on children and adolescents, there is a notable gap in understanding these effects on adult behavior patterns. Furthermore, we aim to go beyond previous studies by examining substance use outcomes across various drug classifications and usage frequencies [8, 11, 16, 18]. Given the far-reaching impact of parental substance use on their children's future behavior, untangling the environmental and individual factors involved in substance use and related disorders can be quite challenging. Delving into this area is essential as it has the potential to significantly influence psychological interventions and outreach efforts while expanding our understanding of the enduring impact of parental behaviors on their children as they transition into adulthood. We intend to expand this knowledge by investigating the following hypotheses: 

H1: Experiences with parental substance use behaviors in childhood and adolescence are associated with substance use outcomes in adults. This includes total number of substances used, known as substance involvement, and frequency of substance usage. 

H2: Personality traits are associated with substance use outcomes in adults. This includes the total number of substances used, or substance involvement, and frequency of substance usage. 

H3: Experiences with parental substance use behaviors will be more strongly associated with adult substance use outcomes than personality. This includes the association with the total number of substances used, or substance involvement, and frequency of substance usage. 

While previous research has emphasized the influential roles of parental substance use and personality in shaping future substance use, there remains a need for a deeper understanding of how these factors collectively impact individuals. This area of study deserves further exploration to gain a more nuanced understanding of these effects. Prior research has shed light on the combined impact of environmental factors, such as parenting practices and personality [e.g., 20]. However, it is important to note that these findings were based on adolescents in their early teens and may not be easily generalized to adult populations. We aim to enhance the current understanding by focusing on an adult sample and specifically examining the impact of experiences with parental substance use rather than general parenting practices, as in the study by Block et al. [20]. This more nuanced approach may provide valuable insights for researchers and clinicians into how psychosocial processes influence substance use precursors and addiction.

Participants

A total of 383 people were recruited from the undergraduate research pool at a large southeastern university in the United States and through social media. Due to missing data, responses from 308 participants were fully analyzed. Participants’ age ranged from 18-74 (M = 29.20, SD = 11.39). The sample consisted of 85.5% (n = 194) females, 14.1% (n = 32) males, and 0.4% (n = 1) transgender. In terms of race, 8% (n = 18) were African American/Black, 4.9% (n = 11) Asian-Pacific Islander, 67.7% (n = 153) Caucasian/White, 0.9% (n = 2) Native American, 10.6% (n = 24) Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial, and 8% (n = 18) other. Lastly, 23% (n = 52) listed their ethnicity as Hispanic/Latinx, 50.9% (n = 115) listed their ethnicity as non-Hispanic/Latinx, and 26.1% (n = 59) listed their ethnicity as other.

Procedure

Prior to data collection, the study procedure and materials were approved by the institutional review board (protocol: STUDY00002249) at a large southeastern university in the United States. This study employed a web-based survey design. Participants use the Qualtrics survey system to confirm age requirements of being 18 years of age or older and affirm consent to participate. Responses were collected on the personality measure of the Big Five Inventory (BFI) [24], items related to experiences with parental substance use derived in part from the substance use disorder criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) [33] and questions about the classes and frequency of substances used on the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) [34, 35]. Demographic questions such as age, gender, race/ethnicity were also asked. 

Measures

Personality. The Big Five Inventory [24] measures 5 personality traits using a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The 44 statements include reverse-coded items to measure the participant score for each personality trait. The Big Five Inventory subscales extraversion (α = .86), agreeableness (α = .79), conscientiousness (α = .82), neuroticism (α = .87), and openness (α = .83) are reliable trait measures. Scores are calculated on each subscale by adding item weights together for a sum score [24]. Scale score ranges include extraversion 8 – 40, agreeableness 9 – 45, conscientiousness 9 – 45, neuroticism 8 – 40, and openness 10 – 50. Higher scores indicate higher levels of the respective trait.

Previous Experiences with Parental Substance Use Scale. 30 items were used to assess previous experiences with parental substance use behaviors. Items for the scale were rationally derived from the substance use disorder guidelines of the DSM-5 [33] to outline specific problematic substance use behaviors. The items for the scale are reported in Table 1. Participants were asked to report whether they had any of the 30 experiences with a parent or guardian’s substance use prior to the age of 18 using a 1-“yes” or 0-“no” response format. The scale included items such as, “One or more of my parents/guardians has had issues with the law because of their substance use,” and “One or more of my parents/guardians has bought illicit substances in my presence.” This scale was scored by totaling the number of yes answers. A higher number of yes responses indicates increased exposure to potentially harmful parental substance use behaviors. We identified three categories for score ranges, with scores 0 to 10 seen as “low,” 11 to 20 as “moderate,” and 21 to 30 as “high.” The scale demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = .95).

Table 1: Previous experiences with Parental Substance Use Scale

Note. The Previous Experiences with Parental Substance Use Scale was rationally derived and created by the study authors. Response format is yes or no.

Substance Use Outcomes

We adapted the first two items from the ASSIST [35] to assess the variety of types of substances used and substance usage frequency. Responses to the ASSIST (α = .91) have high internal consistency. The first item of the ASSIST assesses usage behaviors across different classifications of drugs, including tobacco products, alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), sedatives, hallucinogens, inhalants, and opioids.  Participants respond to this item by selecting whether they have ever tried the product in a 1- “yes” or 0-“no” response format. The second item measures the frequency of drug use within a 3-month period. Participants were asked how often they used each type of drug. Responses to these questions ranged from 1 (never) to 5 (daily or almost daily). These two items result in a) a total substance involvement score (TSI), which is a sum of response weights across all substance classes, and b) a current frequency of substance use score, which is an item score for each substance [34, 35]. Due to our interest in participants' overall substance use frequency, we used an average of their frequency responses across drug classes to represent an index of their total usage frequency. We also computed a standardized index of their average usage frequency by converting the raw scores to z-scores and averaging them for a standardized frequency index. Higher index scores are interpreted as increased usage frequency, while low index scores indicate decreased usage frequency. Unstandardized frequency index scores ranged from 1 to 5.

Data analytic strategy 

SPSS software version 28 was used to complete the descriptive and inferential data analyses. A criterion alpha of α = .05 was set for analyses. We examined the data to meet assumptions of univariate normality. The BFI, ASSIST, and questions of Previous Experiences with Parental Substance Use scale met assumptions for skewness and kurtosis (skewness < 3>

Preliminary Analyses 

Data Cleaning. We began analyzing responses from 383 individuals. However, 75 participants were excluded from the analysis. Five participants had been redirected out of the study for selecting the "do not consent" response, 52 submitted blank responses despite confirming their consent to participate in the online system, and 18 were removed because they completed less than 5% of the survey. We retained participants with missing data of less than 25%, resulting in a final sample size of 308 for analysis.

Descriptives Statistics. Sum scores were computed for each of the BFI subscales: extraversion (M = 23.82, SD = 6.89), agreeableness (M = 34.45, SD = 6.06), conscientiousness (M = 33.15, SD = 6.44), neuroticism (M = 27.55, SD = 7.06), openness (M = 37.19, SD = 5.61). Based on the average scores across traits, there were mostly moderate levels of each trait present in the sample. For experiences with parental substance use, the number of statements participants selected that applied to them (M = 8.93, SD = 8.58) ranged from 0 to 30. Most participants reported fewer than 10 experiences with parental substance use, and the median number of experiences was 6. Therefore, this sample can be classified as "low" on this variable.

Means and standard deviations for the substance use outcome variable were computed. Participants reported their usage behaviors across different classifications of drugs, including tobacco products, alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, ATS, sedatives, hallucinogens, inhalants, and opioids. TSI scores (M = 1.85, SD = 2.28) ranged from zero to nine. These scores represent the total number of types of substances ever used in their lifetime.  TSI scores were relatively low overall in the sample. Participants were asked how often they used substances in the past three months. On average, for substance use frequency, 64% (n = 139) of participants chose “never,” 33.6% (n = 73) chose “once or twice,” 2% (n = 4) chose “monthly,” 0.5% (n = 1), chose “weekly” and no participants selected “daily or almost daily.” We computed an index to represent the average usage frequency using the raw scores (unstandardized frequency index) and converted the raw scores to z-scores (standardized frequency index), which were used in the inferential analyses. The unstandardized and standardized frequency indices were strongly and significantly correlated with each other (r = .93, p < .001). The unstandardized (r = .57, p < .001) and standardized (r = .50, p < .001) indices were also significantly and moderately correlated with TSI scores. Given the high convergent validity between the unstandardized and standardized frequency indices, we only report the inferential statistics for the standardized frequency index. 

Hypothesis Testing

Hypothesis 1. A series of bivariate correlations were conducted to examine the relationship between experiences with parental substance use scale scores and a) the participants’ TSI scores, which represented the total number of types of substances used (i.e., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, etc.) and b) their average reported drug use frequency. There was a statistically significant correlation between the number of substances used or substance involvement and experiences with parental substance use behaviors (r = .17, p = .009). The experiences with parental substance use scale scores also had a statistically significant relationship with the standardized substance use frequency index (r = .23, p = .001). This supported our first hypothesis that experiences with parental substance use were associated with substance use outcomes in adults. Specifically, these findings support increased substance involvement and greater drug usage frequency as experiences with parental substance use increase.

Hypothesis 2. We also computed bivariate correlations between personality traits and substance use outcomes for TSI and drug usage frequency. Table 2 shows the correlation coefficients for the significant correlations with the TSI and neuroticism (p = .001), TSI and conscientiousness (p < .001). These findings support those increased levels of neuroticism are associated with increased substance involvement, while higher levels of conscientiousness are related to lower levels of substance involvement. As it relates to personality and substance use frequency, the correlation coefficients are reported in Table 3. Significant associations were again found for conscientiousness (p = .007) and neuroticism (p = .004), with higher conscientiousness predicting lower substance usage while higher neuroticism indicated higher substance usage. The second hypothesis that personality traits are linked to substance use outcomes was also supported.

Table 2: BFI Personality Traits Inter-Correlations and Correlations Between BFI Personality Traits & Total Substance Involvement (TSI) Scores

Note. BFI = Big Five Inventory. TSI = Total Substance Involvement; this is the number of types of substances used. Significant correlations are in bold. *p < .05, 2-tailed. **p < .01, 2-tailed. 

Table 3: BFI Personality Inter-Correlations and Correlations Between BFI Personality Traits & Standardized Substance Use Frequency Scores

Note. BFI= Big Five Inventory. Significant correlations are in bold. *p < .05, 2-tailed. **p < .01, 2-tailed. 

Hypothesis 3. We tested hypothesis three in two parts by a) comparing the difference in the magnitude of correlations between personality trait scores and substance use outcomes versus correlations between experiences with parental substance use scores and substance use outcomes and b) using hierarchical regression analyses to explore the contributions to the variance in substance use outcomes explained by experiences with parental substance use scores and specific personality trait scores. The regression analyses showed variance inflation factors (VIF) of less than 2, indicating no problematic collinearity issues. In the first part of hypothesis three, we found weak to small significant correlations among the variables (see Table 4). To further explore the nature of these associations, we compared the magnitude of the correlations using available statistical calculators for dependent correlations with overlapping variables [36, 37]. The z-scores and significance levels for the correlation comparisons are reported in Table 4. Personality, specifically conscientiousness, was more strongly associated with substance involvement, while experiences with parental substance use scores were more strongly correlated with the standardized drug usage frequency index beyond all personality traits, except for conscientiousness.

Table 4: Comparison of Correlations Between Previous Experiences with Parental Substance Use & Total Substance Involvement (TSI) Scores and Frequency and BFI Personality Traits & Total Substance Involvement (TSI) Scores and Frequency

Note. BFI = Big Five Inventory. TSI = Total Substance Involvement. (r) = the Pearson correlation between the scale and substance use outcome. Significant correlations and significant differences are in bold. *p < .05, 2-tailed. **p < .01, 2-tailed. 

Table 5: Hierarchical Regression Analyses for Previous Experiences with Parental Substance Use, BFI Personality Traits & Total Substance Involvement (TSI) Scores

Note. BFI = Big Five Inventory. TSI = Total Substance Involvement; this is the number of types of substances used. *p < .05.

Table 6: Hierarchical Regression Analyses for Previous Experiences with Parental Substance Use, BFI Personality Traits & Standardized Substance Use Frequency

Note. BFI = Big Five Inventory; *p < .05; **p < .01.

For the second part of hypothesis three, hierarchical multiple regression analyses were completed predicting each substance use outcome, including TSI scores and substance usage frequency scores. We report the regression coefficients for each analysis in Tables 5 and 6. In the first regression, experiences with parental substance use scores were entered in block one, and the Big Five personality trait scores were entered in block two to predict TSI scores. Model one, which just contained experiences with parental substance use, was significant. Experiences with parental substance use behaviors alone explained 2.1% of the variance in TSI scores or the variety of substances used by participants (R2 = .021, F (1, 276) = 5.96, p = .015). Model two was also significant and contained experiences with parental substance use and all five personality traits. This model explained 7.4% of the variance in TSI scores (R2 = .074, F (6, 271) = 3.61, p = .002). However, only conscientiousness significantly predicted TSI scores (β = -.14, p = .043). With personality traits in the model, experiences with parental substance use were no longer significant at the .05 level (p = .086).

In the second regression, experiences with parental substance use scores were entered in block one, and the Big Five personality traits were entered in block two to predict standardized substance use frequency scores. Model one, which just contained experiences with parental substance use, was significant. Experiences with parental substance use behaviors alone explained 3.8% of the variance in substance use frequency scores (R2 = .038, F (1, 244) = 9.56, p = .002). Model two was also significant and contained experiences with parental substance use and all five personality traits. This model explained 7.4% of the variance in frequency scores (R2 = .074, F (6, 238) = 3.91, p = .005).  However, only experiences with parental substance use predicted the frequency of substance use (β = .16, p = .011), even with the personality traits in the model. Thus, hypothesis three was partially confirmed, given that experiences with parental substance use were a stronger predictor for frequency of substance usage in comparison to all 5 personality traits. However, parental use was not a stronger correlate nor a stronger predictor of substance involvement beyond conscientiousness.

This study aimed to compare the impact of childhood or adolescent exposure to parental substance use with personality traits in predicting adult substance use behaviors. By examining both the range of substances used or substance involvement, as well as the use frequency, we sought to investigate critical precursors to substance-related disorders [34, 35]. Previous research has consistently shown that parental substance use significantly influences substance use during childhood and adolescence [16, 22], while personality traits have been robust predictors of substance use outcomes across different life stages [8, 30, 31]. However, there is a paucity of research that has explored the combined effects of these factors on adult substance use behaviors. Therefore, our current research contributes further clarity and understanding regarding the interplay between childhood experiences with parental substance use and adult personality traits.

As expected, both experiences with parental substance use and specific personality traits were predictors of the variety of substances used and the frequency of substance usage. Similar to previous research, neuroticism, and conscientiousness were significant predictors of substance use outcomes in these data. More experiences with parental substance use and higher levels of neuroticism were associated with increased substance involvement and more frequent substance use. Alternatively, higher levels of conscientiousness were related to decreased substance involvement and frequency of substance usage. The impact of experiences with parental substance use on substance use frequency in adults exceeded that of all 5 personality traits. However, conscientiousness was a stronger predictor and correlate of this behavior when it came to substance involvement.

These findings may offer meaningful insights into the independent and combined influences of parental substance use experiences and adult personality on adult substance use behaviors and precursors to substance-related disorders in adults. However, these results should be cautiously interpreted, given the relatively small effect sizes. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that despite the sample demonstrating low levels of experiences with parental substance use and substance frequency usage, the effects achieved statistical significance. This suggests that real-world effects may be more substantial than what is indicated by the data at hand. 

Practice Implications

This research has important implications for informing substance use prevention strategies, individual and familial outcomes, and treatment approaches. As our understanding of the risk factors leading to substance use disorders advances, we are better positioned to develop more effective interventions to mitigate the substance use epidemic [1-3]. This could enable clinicians to gain deeper insights into the contextual and environmental influences contributing to substance use, as well as the potential impact of personality-related factors. Furthermore, researchers can build upon this work by identifying specific behavioral risks that could inform parents and contribute to reducing adverse outcomes in treatment-seeking populations and future generations. Exploring potential contributing factors to the epidemiology of substance use could also help combat the pervasive stigma associated with substance-related disorders. By providing support for the environmental and psychosocial influences in the development of these disorders, we can offer individuals struggling with substance use more community resources and better-quality care. 

Limitations and Future Directions

Although this research highlights the influence that exposure to maladaptive parental substance-use behaviors and enduring personality factors can have on substance-use behaviors in adulthood, potential limitations that can be addressed with future research should be noted. Additional inquiry is needed to address issues of generalizability, self-report bias, and external validation of measurements used. The sample in these data were mostly college students and not treatment-seeking. Therefore, this analysis may not apply to non-college communities or treatment-seeking populations. Most of the participants were also women, which may impact how these processes generalize to other genders. Thus, future research should seek more diverse populations in which to explore these effects.  Given that self-report data can be affected by social desirability biases and memory recall biases, it will be important that future research employ mechanisms to verify accounts of experiences with parental substance use to strengthen the possible connections between these experiences and substance use outcomes in adults. It should be noted that our assessment of experiences with parental substance use scale had not been used previously. However, the strong internal reliability supported its use in these data. Future research should include additional analysis of the psychometric properties of this measure to ensure internal and external validity. Lastly, the impact that parenting practices may have on personality development in childhood, which is linked to adult personality, cannot be discounted [38]. Hence, fully extricating the full impacts of these factors can be challenging.

In summary, this research proposes a contextual framework for understanding the impact of parental substance use behaviors on emerging adults and how these effects compare to established personality influences. This research supports that parental substance use is a powerful influencer on the frequency of substance use and overall substance involvement in adults. However, for substance involvement, conscientiousness may have a more well-defined role. These results offer a nuanced interpretation of the impact of parental substance use and personality traits, which is essential for determining and addressing risk factors in adulthood. Thus, for adults, promoting conscientious or disciplined personality behaviors may help alleviate and reduce addiction risks. This awareness may help break the cycle of negative influence, both environmentally and psychologically, and aid in combatting these adverse factors. The consideration of these dynamics has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of research initiatives, community outreach programs, and clinical interventions, thereby reducing the societal burden of substance use disorders.

ASSIST= Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test, ATS= amphetamine-type stimulants, BFI= Big Five Inventory, DSM-5= Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, NSDUH = National Survey on Drug Use and Health, TSI= total substance involvement, VIF=variance inflation factors 

Acknowledgments

None

Competing Interests

All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Ethics Approval

The institutional review board of the University of Central Florida approved this study. The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Data Availability

De-identified raw data used in this research is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Declarations

The authors have no competing financial or institutional interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.