The Validity of the Addiction Prone Personality Scale
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2011 Validity of the Addiction Prone Personality Scale Sandi Sage Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION VALIDITY OF THE ADDICTION PRONE PERSONALITY SCALE By SANDI SAGE A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2011 The members of the committee approve the Dissertation of Sandi Sage defended on 11/30/2010. _______________________________ F. Donald Kelly Professor Directing Thesis _______________________________ James P. Sampson Professor Co-Directing Thesis _______________________________ Elizabeth Goldsmith University Representative _______________________________ Gary W. Peterson Committee Member Approved: __________________________________________________________________ Betsy Becker, Chair, Department of Educational Psychology & Learning Systems The Graduate School has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge ALL of my Committee members for their support and patience. I would especially like to thank Dr. Kelly for his perseverance and patience with me during this entire process and Dr. Peterson who has been very helpful and supportive over the years. I would also like to thank Dr. Sampson for his generosity, enthusiasm and kindness. Dr. Goldsmith agreed to serve on the committee despite not knowing me and for this I am grateful. The committee members have been relentless in their encouragement and support for an extended period of time. I would also like to thank Casey Dozier for her help with the statistical analysis. Lastly, I would like to thank my husband, Jeff, family and friends for their continued support and encouragement. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables…….……………………………………………………………………………v Abstract .................................................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 2: SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS AND PERSONALITY RESEARCH: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE………………………………………………………... 13 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................... 64 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ........................................................................................................ 76 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION .................................................................................................. 88 APPENDIX A: ADDICTION-PRONE PERSONALITY (APP) SCALE ............................ 95 APPENDIX B: APP NORMS ................................................................................................ 96 APPENDIX C: SASSI-3 ......................................................................................................... 98 APPENDIX D: GLOSSARY OF TERMS ........................................................................... 102 APPENDIX E: INFORMED CONSENT. ........................................................................... 105 APPENDIX F: HUMAN SUBJECTS COMMITTEE APPROVAL MEMORADUM ....... 106 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 108 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH……………………………………………………………….137 iv LIST OF TABLES 1. Demographic Data………………………………………………………………………..65 2. Internal consistency of the APP Scale………………………………………....................76 3. Item total correlations of the APP for the combined groups……………………………..77 4. Initial Eigenvalues based on Principal Components Analysis of the combined groups………………………………………………………………………….78 5. Rotated Components Analysis using Varimax Rotation for combined groups……………………………………………………………………………………..80 6. Correlations between APP total and SASSI-3 scales total score for combined groups………………………………………………………………..................82 7. Model summary with SASSI-3 score entered first followed by the APP as predictors of probability of substance dependency (n=199)……………………...83 8. ANOVA comparing clinical and student populations using the APP as the dependent variable………………………………………………………………….84 9. Univariate tests of SASSI-3 scales to differentiate clinical and and student populations……………………………………………………………………86 v ABSTRACT Young adults, age 18-30 years are in the highest risk group for developing substance use disorders (SUDs) and these disorders are associated with a myriad of negative consequences. Researchers in the field of psychology studying SUDs and personality variables have determined that specific personality traits tend to be associated with and affect the type and severity of SUD’s. There appear to be 2 clusters of substance abusers: those high in Psychoticism or “P” traits such as impulsivity, sensation-seeking, disinhibition, anti-social behaviors and those high in Neuroticism or “N” traits such as internalizing, depressive tendencies, negative views and anxiety. The Addiction Prone Personality scale (APP) (Barnes et al., 2000) was developed as a measure of personality vulnerability to SUD’s. Given that the APP is a relatively new scale and that the research is limited, further research investigating the scale’s psychometric properties seems justified. The present study examined the construct validity of the APP with 5 sub-validity studies to examine internal consistency/reliability, factor validity, convergent validity, incremental validity, and criterion validity. This study employed a young adult population, ages 18-30, drawn from two samples: a college student sample and a clinical sample of DUI offenders referred for assessment and psycho-educational treatment. Results were mixed in that the APP demonstrated strong internal consistency with the clinical group, but weak internal consistency for the student and combined groups. The factor analysis of the APP revealed three underlying subscales which measure constructs consistent with previous research. However, there was no underlying unidimensional scale. Therefore the total score is impossible to interpret. Further, while the APP had moderate convergent validity with the SASSI-3, there was no significant incremental or discriminant validity with these samples using the SASSI-3. Given the limited psychometric properties, the results suggest that the APP in its present form would not be appropriate for use with individuals in predicting addiction proneness. The results are discussed in terms of previous research and recommendations for future research into the construct of addiction proneness are offered. vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Statement of the Problem Substance use disorders (SUDs) are one of the most important contributors to preventable morbidity and mortality in America and among the most difficult public health challenges (Johnston, O’Malley & Bachman, 1994; McGinnis & Foege, 1993; Peele, 1993). Substance abuse and dependence have widespread effects on society including victims of homicide and violence, abuse, motor vehicle accidents and disruption of family life and careers (Zuckerman, 1999). The government spends billions of dollars annually attempting to contain the drug trade with limited success. A thorough understanding of the problem of substance abuse and dependence in terms of biological, social and psychological factors is needed in order to address the problem. Of all age groups, underage drinkers (18-20 year olds) and young adults (21-30 year olds) consume the largest amount of alcohol and have the highest rates of heavy drinking (Foster et al., 2003; Naimi et al., 2003). College students are in an age group that has the highest rate of binge drinking and are at a higher risk for heavy episodic drinking than their peers who do not attend college (Johnston, O’Malley & Bachman, 1994). Binge drinking is associated with substantially higher risks of acute health problems such as serious injury, especially resulting from auto crashes; unplanned and unsafe sex, assault, aggressive behavior, and a spectrum of drinking related social and psychological problems (Wechsler & Isaac, 1992; Wechsler et al, 1994). Thus, binge drinking is arguably the number one public health hazard and the primary source of preventable morbidity and mortality for college students in the U.S. (Wechsler et al., 1995). Risk factors associated with SUD’s include genetic, environmental/psychosocial and biochemical variables. The literature indicates that the relationship between such factors as demographic variables, familial characteristics, types of substance abuse and related personality factors are complex and intertwined. Typically, individuals with substance abuse/dependence disorders have secondary diagnoses or comorbid disorders, especially anxiety, depression and personality disorders. 1 Personality research has been helpful in identifying individual vulnerability to SUD’s (Sher, Bartholow & Wood, 2000). Sensation seeking, impulsivity and risk taking propensity are specific personality constructs found to be particularly relevant to substance abuse (Lejuez et al., 2002; Wagner, 2001; Waldeck & Miller, 1997; Barnes, et al., 2000). Alcoholism is the most prevalent of all the substance use disorders likely due to a combination of its legality, availability, and social