| Emphasizing psychological health and mental hygiene,the report of the 20 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,along with the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council in the "Healthy China 2030" plan outline,highlight the need to control smoking and alcohol consumption to promote mental health.During adolescence,an important stage of individual psychological development,behaviors such as smoking and alcohol consumption warrant special attention.Personality traits,one of the risk factors for substance use,have been summarized into four categories: hopelessness,anxiety sensitivity,impulsivity,and sensation seeking.Research suggests a positive prediction of these traits towards substance use,while others demonstrate no significant prediction,or even a negative prediction.The longitudinal association between personality traits and substance use remains unclear,likely influenced by other key variables.Some studies indicate that a growth mindset,which is the belief in the development of personal characteristics like intelligence and skills,can impact personality traits and thus may affect the relationship between personality traits and substance use.This study employs gender-stratified cross-lagged models with random intercepts to explore the longitudinal association between adolescent personality traits and substance use,as well as the moderating effect of growth mindset.This research recruited 9549 adolescents(average baseline age 16.75 ± 0.84;59.6%male,40.4% female)and tracked them for three consecutive years(T1: baseline;T2:one year later;T3: two years later).Participants were assessed on four personality traits(hopelessness,anxiety sensitivity,impulsivity,sensation seeking),growth mindset,two types of substance use behaviors(smoking,drinking)frequency,and background variables(gender,age,annual household income,parental education level,family structure,etc.).The data analysis reveals:Significant gender differences in the longitudinal association between adolescent personality traits and substance use.Among male adolescents,a significant bidirectional longitudinal association was found between the four personality traits and substance use.An increase in the level of hopelessness decreased substance use frequency,while an increase in substance use frequency initially decreased,then increased the level of hopelessness;an increase in anxiety sensitivity,impulsivity,and sensation seeking increased substance use frequency,and vice versa.Among female adolescents,impulsivity and sensation seeking had a significant unidirectional longitudinal association with substance use.An increase in impulsivity and sensation seeking increased the frequency of substance use in females,while no significant longitudinal association was found between hopelessness,anxiety sensitivity,and substance use.The moderating effect of growth mindset in the longitudinal association between personality traits and substance use varied by gender.For male adolescents,the moderating effect of growth mindset was not significant.For female adolescents,the moderating effect of growth mindset was significant in the longitudinal association between hopelessness,sensation seeking,and substance use.In conclusion,our study unveils a significant longitudinal association between adolescent personality traits and substance use.Considering the importance of risk personality traits in adolescent mental health,incorporating them into the adolescent mental health file could provide crucial data for preventing substance use behavior among high-risk adolescents.Interventions based on a growth mindset may be an effective measure to reduce substance use behavior among high-risk female adolescents. |
