Abstract

This study investigated the general TCI temperament and personality characteristics of first-time drug abusers and compared the differences in TCI profiles between groups through cluster analysis. In order to classify all study subjects into groups with similar personality characteristics, we conduct cluster analysis using the seven TCI-RS top scales. We verified differences in TCI characteristics of each cluster through one-way ANOVA. Based on the DAST-10 scale, a tool for determining drug dependence, we classified into low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk groups, and verified the difference in scores on the TCI scale between the three groups. The main results of this study are as follows. First, drug abusers had higher ‘novelty-seeking’ scores compared to normal adults’. Second, female drug abusers showed higher ‘harm-avoidance’ scores than males. Third, the more severe the drug dependence, the higher the novelty-seeking, harm-avoidance, and self-transcendence, and the lower self-directedness. Fourth, among the variables of TCI, novelty-seeking, harm-avoidance, and self-transcendence had a significant positive correlation with drug dependence, that is, the risk of addiction. Self-directedness had a negative correlation with drug dependence, and it was found that there was a significant positive correlation with persistence. The study confirmed that ‘high novelty-seeking’ was a general characteristic of drug abusers, and ‘harm-avoidance’ was related to the severity of drug dependence. In addition, the addiction vulnerability of female drug abusers was confirmed, and the characteristics of the ‘high-risk group’ with high addiction risk were ‘high novelty-seeking and high harm-avoidance’, ‘low self-directedness’ and ‘high self-transcendence’.