Exploring Substance Abuse and the Dark Tetrad in Health Sciences and Non-Health Sciences Students

Substance abuse can be used as a coping strategy to manage stress related to academic activities and is a risk-taking behavior that is also associated with people with higher levels of the Dark Tetrad personality traits. Our study aimed to investigate the association between substance abuse and the Dark Tetrad in students in health and non-health sciences fields. Our sample was composed of 174 college students between 18 and 58 years old (M = 25.60; SD = 9.14). Students completed self-report psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, sadism, and substance use scales. Results suggest that men consumed more substances and scored higher on the Dark Tetrad than women. Also, when comparing fields, men from health sciences tended to score higher on dark personality traits. These results emphasize the potential risk factors associated with dark personality traits and the consumption of licit and illicit substances by college students, highlighting the need for further studies with this population and the impact of these behaviors and characteristics on future professional practice.