Original scientific paper
The moderating role of causality orientations in the relationship between personality traits and cannabis consumption
Dijana Jerković
orcid.org/0000-0001-6163-614X
; University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, Zagreb, Croatia
Martina Lotar Rihtarić
orcid.org/0000-0003-0666-0299
; Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Valentina Kranželić
; Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
According to Self-Determination Theory, causality orientations represent relatively enduring aspects of people that characterise the source of initiation and regulation of their behaviour. Individuals with a high-autonomy orientation organise their behaviours according to their own interests and goals, whereas controlled behaviour is initiated and regulated by pressure from internal or external forces (Deci & Ryan, 1985). This research tested a model that incorporated causality orientations, personality traits and cannabis consumption. The sample consisted of 438 participants (37.9% males and 62.1% females; mean age M=19.62, SD=0.826) comprising first- and second-year students at the University of Zagreb that lived in student dormitories. A adapted version of the autonomy and control scales of the General Causality Orientations Scale (Deci & Ryan, 1985) as well as the extraversion, conscientiousness and neuroticism scales of the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP50) were applied. Cannabis consumption was operationalised as the number of days a person consumed cannabis in his or her lifetime. A hierarchical regression analysis was conducted with the number of days a person consumed cannabis in his or her lifetime as a criterion; personality traits and autonomy causality orientation were predictors in the first step, and their interactions were included in the second step. The same procedure was conducted with control causality orientation. The results showed that moderation effects of autonomy causality orientation and personality traits on cannabis consumption were not significant. There were significant interaction effects of control causality orientation and extraversion, as well as significant effects of this motivational orientation and conscientiousness on the frequency of cannabis consumption. Among participants that were average and high in control causality orientation, higher results on the extraversion scale correlated with more frequent cannabis consumption, and the effect was stronger among students with a higher control causality orientation. In addition, among average- and high-control oriented participants, higher results on the conscientiousness scale correlated with less frequent cannabis consumption. These effects of personality traits on cannabis consumption were not present among students who scored low on control orientation.
Keywords
autonomy orientation; control orientation; personality traits; cannabis consumption
Hrčak ID:
193755
URI
Publication date:
16.2.2018.
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