Role of Temperament, Personality Traits and Onset Age of Smoking in Predicting Opiate Dependence

BACKGROUND: According to drug gateway theory, smoking cigarettes, especially, low onset age of smoking, is one of the risk factors for future use. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to compare nicotine and opiate addicts to identify the differences in personality traits and onset age of smoking in the two groups that cause some individuals to appeal to other substances after starting to use cigarettes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two groups of opiate and nicotine addicts were randomly selected. Revised version of the Cloninger temperament inventory questionnaire, the Fagrastrom nicotine dependence and the Maudsley addiction profile were used. ANOVA and logistic regression were applied for data analysis. RESULTS: Opiate addicts had higher scores in novelty seeking dimension and lower scores in cooperativeness compared to nicotine addicts. The onset age of smoking cigarette in opiate addicts was lower than nicotine addicts. CONCLUSIONS: Low onset age of smoking cigarettes, high novelty seeking and low cooperativeness in opiate dependents are among the important personality traits in future use of drugs that can predict the subsequent onset of using opiate drugs.