Determining the relationship between temperament andmental disorders in drug addicts and non-addicts

Drug addiction as a social problem has many facets including social, cultural and individual aspects. But none of these factors alone can determine addiction. As such, the present study examined the relationship between temperament and mental disorders in drug addicts and non addicts. To do this, 143 male (n=72) addicts and non-addicts (n=71) in a causal-comparative study were randomly selected and administered the temperament subscales of cloninger's temperament and DASS-21 inventory. Using pearson correlation and fisher's Z-test results showed harm avoidance was significantly correlated with depression, anxiety, and stress only in addicts. Additionally, no significant relationship between each subscale of temperament inventory with mental disorder between the two groups was observed. The results indicated that in the present study temperamental and mental disorders factors did not play a central role in the development of drug dependence and other factors, not assessed in this study, and were the main cause of drug addiction.