title: Relation of personality to adolescent alcohol and drug use: a coping perspective.
abstract: A link between personality and substance use is established by assuming that (a) substance use which occurs in response to problem situations represents a present-oriented, emotion-focused coping behavior, and (b) adolescents who lack ego strength and ego control are more likely to rely on emotion-focused coping behaviors. Longitudinal data used to test the validity of these assumptions indicate that above-average levels of use intensity and of coping use are exhibited by adolescents who either maintain below-average levels of ego strength and ego control or who fall from average to below-average levels over a 3-year interval.
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D004532:Ego; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000523:psychology; D010553:Personality Development; D010556:Personality Tests; D012649:Self Concept; D012907:Smoking; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*