A Further Investigation into the Personality of Drug Addicts in Treatment

Summary Several previous studies have reported personality differences between addicts and normal subjects. In the present investigation, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire was administered to 221 addicts at three London treatment centres, and to 310 normal subjects. An item analysis showed that a large number of items discriminated between the two groups. An ‘Addiction Scale’ was constructed from the 32 items on which the groups differed most, (all at p<0.001). Most of the A‐Scale items were drawn from the Neuroticism Scale and identified feelings of anxiety and depression. It is suggested that this neurotic component may be artificially inflated. Addicts may have learned to present neurotic problems through such symptoms being rewarded in therapeutic institutions. The neurotic component seems to play a lesser role in distinguishing female addicts from controls. These and other findings are discussed.