There are scientifically validated ways to learn more about yours (though they’re not perfect). But there are also plenty of descriptors that can lead people astray. One of these is the notion of an “addictive personality,” meaning a single profile of a person who’s at risk for developing an addiction.
People often use this term to explain why someone overdoes it with alcohol or other substances, or with habits like shopping or gambling. Likewise, people sometimes claim they don’t have an addictive personality to justify why they feel they can imbibe, consume, or participate in certain acts without restraint.. But experts say there’s actually no such thing as an addictive personality.
Despite decades of research on this issue, scientists haven’t been able to identify a personality type that reliably predicts whether someone will have problems with excessive use of alcohol or other substances. Manassa Hany, division director of addiction psychiatry at Northwell’s Zucker Hillside and South Oaks Hospitals. And there are risks to putting stock in the concept of an addictive personality, according to experts.
It might give someone a false sense of security if they believe they don’t have an addictive temperament, or it may make someone reluctant to seek help if they’re overdoing it with a particular substance or behavior because they believe they’re not predisposed to having an issue, says Hany. On the other hand, “if we label people as having an addictive personality, that can be harmful,” Hany adds. Ryan Marino, an associate professor of emergency medicine and psychiatry at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland.
None of those individual things is the determining factor. It can be a combination of any of those factors.” While the concept of an addictive personality is not backed by scientific evidence, some research suggests that certain individual traits—but not a single personality “type”—are linked to a higher risk of developing an addiction. Research has found, for example, that impulsivity plays a role in all types of addictive disorders, and drug and alcohol-use disorders tend to be more common among people who score lower on measures of agreeableness and extraversion.
People who are sensation-seekers or novelty-seekers also have a higher risk of developing an addiction, according to research. Other studies have revealed a link between neuroticism and a higher risk of developing different addictions, and there appears to be a connection between compulsivity and a greater risk of behavioral addictions (such as gambling). In addition, having depression, anxiety, loneliness, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can increase the risk of developing an addiction, says Carpenter.
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