Schémas précoces inadaptés et dimensions de la personnalité chez des adolescents consommateurs abusifs d’alcool

Abstract

La présente étude vise à évaluer les schémas précoces inadaptés et les dimensions de la personnalité du modèle à cinq facteurs dans la consommation abusive d’alcool à l’adolescence. Pour mesurer les dimensions de la personnalité, nous avons utilisé le Big Five Inventory français (BFI-Fr), la version abrégée du questionnaire de Young (YSQ-S2) pour évaluer les schémas précoces inadaptés, ainsi que l’Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) pour la consommation d’alcool. Deux cents adolescents ayant préalablement complété ces questionnaires ont ensuite été répartis en trois groupes selon que leur consommation d’alcool était nulle (n = 33), occasionnelle (n = 78) ou abusive (n = 89). Les résultats montrent que les consommateurs abusifs obtiennent des scores significativement plus élevés que les consommateurs occasionnels et que les non-consommateurs sur le score global d’activation des schémas précoces inadaptés, ainsi que sur six schémas spécifiques (abandon, imperfection, vulnérabilité, contrôle émotionnel à outrance, grandeur, manque d’autocontrôle). Nos résultats montrent également des scores de Névrosisme significativement plus élevés chez les consommateurs abusifs, en comparaison aux consommateurs occasionnels et aux non-consommateurs. Les implications théoriques et pratiques de ces résultats sont discutées. Alcohol is the most widely consumed drug amongst adolescents and its misuse is a great public health concern. In France, regular alcohol consumption in this population has increased over the past decade (Spilka et al., 2015). This disturbing trend makes research on risk factors for alcohol misuse among adolescents particularly important. In the literature, early maladaptive schemas are considered as a possible risk factor in the onset and maintenance of psychopathology (Young, 1994; Ball, 1998). They are defined as broad pervasive patterns that are comprised of memories, emotions and cognitions regarding oneself and one's relationships with others, and are dysfunctional to a significant degree (Young et al., 2005). Theoretically, early maladaptive schemas begin to develop during early childhood from toxic experiences (Young, 1994). Although research has demonstrated that adult alcohol abusers report greater early maladaptive schema endorsement than a non-clinical comparison group (Decouvelaere et al., 2002; Roper et al., 2010), we are unaware of any research that has examined whether early maladaptive schemas are prevalent among adolescents alcohol abusers. Similarly, relationships between alcohol misuse and personality domains of the Five Factor Model (Costa and McCrae, 1992) have been widely examined in samples of adults (Kotov et al., 2010; Ruiz et al., 2008), yet only one study has raised this question among adolescents (Merenäkk et al., 2003). For these reasons, the present study aims to examine early maladaptive schemas and personality domains of the Five Factor Model in adolescent alcohol abusers. This research involved 286 adolescents recruited in high schools. Each participant completed five self-report questionnaires assessing (1) alcohol consumption [Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)], (2) cannabis consumption [Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI)], (3) early maladaptive schemas [Young Schemas Questionnaire (YSQ-S2)], (4) personality domains [Big Five Inventory français (BFI-Fr)] and (5) depression [Beck Depression Inventory - Second Edition (BDI-II)]. Fifty-seven participants were excluded from this study due to the following criteria: suffering from depression (n = 13), excessive consumption of cannabis (n = 41) or use of a drug other than alcohol, tobacco or cannabis (n = 3). Twenty-nine adolescents were also excluded because their questionnaires were incomplete. Finally, 200 adolescents (124 boys and 76 girls) were divided into three groups according to their alcohol consumption: absent (n = 33), occasional (n = 78) or abuse (n = 89). An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted on early maladaptive schemas and personality domains with age as covariate to explore the relationship between these dimensions and alcohol consumption among adolescents. The results indicated that alcohol abusers are significantly different from occasional users and non-users by (a) a global hyperactivation of early maladaptive schemas, (b) a hyperactivation of six specific schemas (abandonment, defectiveness, vulnerability, emotional inhibition, grandiosity, insufficient selfcontrol) and (c) significantly higher scores of Neuroticism. The data is coherent with the literature suggesting that early maladaptive schema could be a risk factor for the initiation and maintenance of substance abuse (Ball, 1998, 2007). In addition, this study suggests that Young's schema theory might constitute a valuable framework to understand alcohol abuse in adolescence. The results also show that alcohol abusers present low emotional stability and difficulties in feeling positive emotions, which is consistent with earlier studies among young adults (Mezquita et al., 2010; Ruiz et al., 2003). However, more research is needed to further understand the relationship between early maladaptive schemas, personality and alcohol abuse in adolescence. This could confirm the relevance of therapeutic programs targeting early maladaptive schemas and personality traits in this population.