Associations between Personality Traits, Self-Esteem and Psychoactive Substance Use among Commercial Bus Drivers in Lagos Nigeria

Psychoactive substance use (PSU) is a common occurrence among commercial bus drivers in Lagos, Nigeria. This could result from desires to stay awake throughout lengthy travels, hard working hours, increase productivity, unfavorable working circumstances and sales of alcoholic beverages in motor parks and its environs. This study investigates some psychosocial predictors of psychoactive substance use among commercial bus drivers in Lagos state. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 471 participants comprising of males only. Respondents’ mean age was 40.7 years. Data were collected using Index of Self-Esteem (ISE), Drug Use Disorder Identification Test (DUDIT) and Big Five Inventory. A 68.5% prevalence of PSU was reported by participants. Agreeableness (β = -.106; t = -2.16, p .05), and neuroticism (β = – .08; p = >.05) do not significantly and independently predict PSU among the participants. Self-esteem significantly and independently predicted PSU among the participants. Age does not significantly predict PSU among the participants. Significant difference in the PSU was found among the respondents based on their educational qualifications and marital status. Authors concluded that personality traits (Openness to experiences, consciousness, extroversion, agreeableness and Neuroticism) and self-esteem are significant independent predictors of PSU among commercial bus drivers in Lagos, Nigeria. Therefore, implementing educational interventions that focus on the risks of substance abuse and healthy coping mechanisms can be beneficial.