Childhood and adulthood temperament and problem behaviors and adulthood substance use.

A sample of 229 adult men and women were assessed to examine the relationships between childhood and adulthood temperament and problem behaviors. The influence of these variables on adult substance use was also assessed. Results indicated that individuals who had "difficult" temperament characteristics (e.g., hyperactivity) and who experienced problem behaviors (e.g., antisocial behaviors) as children were likely to exhibit them as adults. In addition, the continuation of temperament characteristics and problem behaviors from childhood into adulthood did not demonstrate a high degree of specificity. When the relationships between temperament and problem behaviors to substance use were examined, conduct disorder during childhood and antisocial behavior during adulthood were found to be the best predictors of adult substance abuse. Moreover, this relationship became increasingly stronger with more substance involvement. These results underscore the importance of examining substance use in finer detail by assessing the pattern of substance use, instead of overall substance use involvement.