Irish drug abusers II: their psychological characteristics.

This is the second in a series of 3 articles based on a study of a cohort of Irish drug abusers. This article attempts to identify the psychological traits of drug abusers within the cohort. The cohort consists of 100 drug abusers who attend a drug advisory and treatment centre in Dublin for the first time between November 1977 and February 1979. Three psychosocial, scales (GEFT, NSQ, and PFS) were administered to each subject. Overall, the results indicate that subjects who participated in the study, while of average or above average intelligence, were poorly psychologically adjusted, characterised by a poor sense of identity, a high level of suggestibility and a tendency towards emotional dependence. Their overall level of intelligence was within or above the normal range.