Personality characteristics of chemically dependent persons in a nontraditional, long-term re-entry program

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if persons with a history of chemical dependency have personality traits that differ from a norm group and to determine if personality traits are associated with the perceived level of recovery facilitation. Thirty-one subjects volunteered to fill out the research instruments (16 Personality Factor Questionnaire and a Self-Rated Perceived Level of Recovery Facilitation Scale). The results indicated that persons with a history of substance abuse are significantly more cool, shrewd, dominant, and undisciplined in self conflict, than the norm population. The sample population was also found to score more toward the constructs: abstract thinking, suspicious, apprehensive, self-sufficient, and tense. No correlation was found between self-rated levels of recovery facilitation and personality traits.