Abstract
Media stories often suggest that those working in the creative arts appear to use and abuse psychoactive substances. The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between the use of psychoactive substances and the presence of psychological disorders among art and non-art students. Questionnaires related to these two areas were completed by 182 art students in higher education and a control group of 704 non-art university students. To assess psychoactive substance use, a structured questionnaire including the Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was administered to participants. Psychological disorders were assessed using the Hungarian version of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and the Global Severity Index (GSI). After analyzing the data, significant differences were found between the two groups regarding their first use of psychoactive substances. Art students’ current substance use was found to be significantly more frequent compared to the control group. In relation to psychological disorders, art students scored significantly higher on three scales of the BSI (i.e., psychoticism, hostility, and phobic anxiety). Overall, a significantly higher proportion of artists were labeled as “problematic” using the GSI. The results suggest that artists have a higher risk of both substance use and experiencing psychological disorders.
Highlights
Media stories often suggest that those working in the creative arts appear to use and abuse psychoactive substances
The results showed that being an art student might be a risk factor concerning an early onset of substance use
Given that this was a cross-sectional study, it may be the case that using psychoactive substances earlier in their lives may be a factor in becoming an art student rather than a non-art student
Summary
Media stories often suggest that those working in the creative arts appear to use and abuse psychoactive substances. Knafo (2008) identified possible reasons for artists’ substance use as an aid to depersonalization and derealization leading to the estrangement of personality and reality experiences and the achievement of heightened and altered perceptual states Such phenomena are observable in psychotic individuals, but many individuals intentionally search for mind-altering experiences using techniques such as practicing meditation or yoga. At the same time, during artistic creation, substances may, on the contrary, reduce emerging anxiety and distress as potential increments of the work with the unconscious, even if artists do not use substances for creative work at all In this respect, the role of psychoactive substances, such as alcohol, benzodiazepines, and opiates, which can have depressant effects, may be emphasized. The Bbalancing^ role of opium was hypothesized in two literary figures’ case—Edgar Allan
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