A cross-sectional study of personality traits using neuroticism, extraversion, and openness five-factor inventory in patients with alcohol dependence in a tertiary hospital setting

Abstract

Background: Personality traits have not only been identified as risk factors for the onset and maintenance of alcohol use disorders but also as a significant predictor of alcohol-related dysfunction and comorbidity when tested with multifactorial models. The five-factor model of personality is popular as it explains a good deal of the variance in the personality profiles of different individuals. The study aimed to assess the personality traits of patients with alcohol dependence using neuroticism, extraversion, and openness five-factor inventory (NEO-FFI) and to determine its association with various alcohol-related variables, dysfunction, and comorbidities. Methodology: Fifty patients with alcohol dependence, aged 18–65 years, in a hospital outpatient and inpatient settings, were evaluated using a semi-structured sociodemographic pro forma and the 60-item NEO-FFI-3. Results: Patients with alcohol dependence had high scores on neuroticism and low scores on agreeableness and conscientiousness. High scores on neuroticism and extraversion and low scores on agreeableness and conscientiousness were associated with higher alcohol variable scores, dysfunction, and comorbidities. Conclusion: Higher neuroticism and extraversion and lower agreeableness and conscientiousness scores are associated with parameters associated with higher severity of alcohol dependence and its complications.

Keywords

• alcohol dependence
• neuroticism
• extraversion
• and openness five-factor inventory
• personality trait