Young Adults' Drug Use: A 17-Year Longitudinal Inquiry of Antecedents

Abstract

This longitudinal study examined the interrelation of personality and peer factors on young adults' drug use and also the influence of the interaction of personality and peer factors on drug use. The sample of 756 males and females were interviewed four times between the M ages of 6 and 22. Personality attributes in childhood were related to peer factors in early adolescence which, in turn, were related to personality traits in later adolescence. These traits were linked with selection of peers and, ultimately, drug use in young adulthood. Additionally, the adolescent and young adult domains had direct effects on young adults' drug use. Significant interactions indicated that a few protective childhood personality traits buffer the risk of deviant peers in adolescence on young adults' drug use. More earlier protective characteristics from one domain enhanced the effect of later protective traits from the other domain.