Personality traits and their association with drug use and harm reduction strategies among polysubstance users who attend music festivals (2020)

Background: Although the relationship between personality traits and substance use is well documented, no studies have analyzed this relationship in a sample of polysubstance users who attend festivals. Moreover, few studies have explored how personality traits could contribute to the use of harm reduction strategies for minimizing drug-related harms.
Objective: To determine the relationship between personality traits, poly-substance use and harm reduction strategies among polysubstance-using music festival attendees.
Methods: A cross-sectional web-based survey was employed with 1226 participants (mean age = 26.8; females = 32.6%) who self-identified as polysubstance users (operationalized as multiple past-year drug use) and music festival attendees. The Substance Use Risk Profiles Scale was used to assess four personality traits. Information on the use of 15 substances and nine harm reduction strategies was collected.
Results: Higher levels of impulsivity, sensation seeking and hopelessness were associated with both an increased likelihood of using different substances, and extensive polysubstance use. Increases in impulsivity scores were related to lower odds of frequently using the nine strategies explored.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that among polysubstance users, the probability of using drugs and harm reduction strategies is linked to personality traits, which could inform the design of interventions for reducing drug-related harms among this population.