Meaning in life and personality traits in adult alcoholics

Abstract

The study explores the concept of meaning in life among adult alcoholics and individuals from the general population, as well as its relationship with personality traits based on the Big Five model. Clinical and non-clinical samples have been compared to the construct of meaning in life. After examining the relationship between meaning in life and personality traits, we analyzed the contribution of personality traits in explaining the meaning in life for both groups. The clinical sample consisted of 76 treated alcoholics from the alcoholism ward of a psychiatric hospital in Zagreb, while the non-clinical sample consisted of 77 participants. The following questionnaires were applied: Purpose in Life Test, IPIP – 100, and a questionnaire on general data created exclusively for the purpose of this research. The results have shown significant differences in experience regarding meaning in life between the clinical and non-clinical sample, as individuals from the general population consider their life to be more meaningful. Furthermore, meaning in life had a significant positive relationship to extraversion, agreeableness, openness and conscientiousness and significant negative to neuroticism, in both groups. Extraversion and conscientiousness in the explanation of meaning in life were significant predictors in the general population, while extraversion and neuroticism were significant predictors among adult alcoholics, with neuroticism as a negative predictor. The results of this study, apart from new scientific findings, could contribute to the development of practical interventions and improvements in the treatment of persons with alcohol addiction.