Driven by distraction: Investigating the effects of anxiety on driving performance using the Attentional Control Theory

This study investigates the effects of trait anxiety on self-reported driving behaviours through its negative impacts on Central Executive functions. Following a self-report study that found trait anxiety to be significantly related to driving behaviours, the present study extended the predictions of Eysenck and Calvo’s Attentional Control Theory, proposing that anxiety affects driving behaviours, in particular driving lapses, through its impact across the Central Executive. Seventy-five Australian drivers participated in the study, completing the Parametric Go/No-Go and n-back tasks, as well as the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Driving Behaviour Questionnaire. While both trait anxiety and processing efficiency of the Central Executive was found to significantly predict driving lapses, trait anxiety remained a strong predictor of driving lapses after processing efficiency was controlled for. It is concluded that while processing efficiency of the central Executive is a key determinant of driving lapses, another Central Executive function that is closer to the driving lapses in the trait anxiety – driving lapses relationship may be needed. Suggestions regarding how to improve future trait anxiety – driving behaviours research are discussed.

Impulsivity-related cognition in alcohol dependence: Is it moderated by DRD2/ANKK1 gene status and executive dysfunction?

Perceived impaired control over alcohol use is a key cognitive construct in alcohol dependence that has been related prospectively to treatment outcome and may mediate the risk for problem drinking conveyed by impulsivity in non-dependent drinkers. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether perceived impaired control may mediate the association between impulsivity-related measures (derived from the Short-form Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised) and alcohol-dependence severity in alcohol-dependent drinkers. Furthermore, the extent to which this hypothesized relationship was moderated by genetic risk (Taq1A polymorphism in the DRD2/ANKK1 gene cluster) and verbal fluency as an indicator of executive cognitive ability (Controlled Oral Word Association Test) was also examined. A sample of 143 alcohol-dependent inpatients provided an extensive clinical history of their alcohol use, gave 10ml of blood for DNA analysis, and completed self-report measures relating to impulsivity, impaired control and severity of dependence. As hypothesized, perceived impaired control (partially) mediated the association between impulsivity-related measures and alcohol-dependence severity. This relationship was not moderated by the DRD2/ANKK1 polymorphism or verbal fluency. These results suggest that, in alcohol dependence, perceived impaired control is a cognitive mediator of impulsivity-related constructs that may be unaffected by DRD2/ANKK1 and neurocognitive processes underlying the retrieval of verbal information

Life events and social support among patients with major depressive disorder

The study is part of a research project of 269 psychiatric patients with major depression, Vantaa Depression Study, in the Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research of the National Public Health Institute and the Department of Psychiatry of the Peijas Medical Care District. The aim was to study at the onset of MDE psychosocial differences in subgroups of patients and clustering of events into time before depression and its prodromal phase, to study whether more severe life events and less social support predict poorer outcome in all patients, but most among those currently in partial remission, whether social support declines as a consequence of time spent in MDE, is sensitive to improvement, and whether social support is influenced by neuroticism and extraversion. After screening, a semistructured interview (SCAN, version 2.0) was used for the presence of DSM-IV MDE, and other psychiatric diagnoses. Life events and social support were studied with semistructured methods (IRLE, Paykel 1983; IMSR, Brugha et al. 1987), perceived social support and neuroticism/extraversion with questionnaires (PSSS-R, Blumenthal et al. 1987; EPI, Eysenck and Eysenck 1964) at baseline, 6 and 18 months. At the onset of depression life events were common. No major differences between subgroups of patients were found; the younger had more events, whereas those with comorbid alcoholism and personality disorders perceived less support. Although events were distributed evenly between the time before depression, the prodromal phase and the index MDE, two thirds of the patients attributed their depression to some life event. Adversities and poor perceived support influenced the outcome of all psychiatric patients, most in the subgroup of full remission. In the partial remission group, the impact of severe events and in the MDE, perceived support was important. Low objective and subjective support were predicted by longer time spent in MDE. Along with improvement subjective support improved. Neuroticism and extraversion were associated with the size of social network and perceived support and predicted change of perceived support. In conclusion, adversities were common in all phases of depression. They may thus have many roles; before depression they may precipitate it, in the prodromal phase worsen symptoms, and during the MDE, the outcome of depression. Patients often attributed their depression to a life event. Psychosocial subgroup differences were quite small. Perceived support predicted the outcome of depression, and time spent in MDE objective and subjective support. Neuroticism and extraversion may modify the level and change particularly in perceived support, thereby indirectly effecting vulnerability to depression.

Depression, Anxiety, Psychiatric Comorbidity and Dimensions of Temperament and Personality

This study is part of the Mood Disorders Project conducted by the Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research, National Public Health Institute, and consists of a general population survey sample and a major depressive disorder (MDD) patient cohort from Vantaa Depression Study (VDS). The general population survey study was conducted in 2003 in the cities of Espoo and Vantaa. The VDS is a collaborative depression research project between the Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research of the National Public Health Institute and the Department of Psychiatry of the Peijas Medical Care District (PMCD) beginning in 1997. It is a prospective, naturalistic cohort study of 269 secondary-level care psychiatric out- and inpatients with a new episode of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) MDD. In the general population survey study, a total of 900 participants (300 from Espoo, 600 from Vantaa) aged 20 70 years were randomly drawn from the Population Register Centre in Finland. A self-report booklet, including the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), the Temperament and Character Inventory Revised (TCI-R), the Beck Depression Inventory and the Beck Anxiety Inventory was mailed to all subjects. Altogether 441 participants responded (94 returned only the shortened version without TCI-R) and gave their informed consent. VDS involved screening all patients aged 20-60 years (n=806) in the PMCD for a possible new episode of DSM-IV MDD. 542 consenting patients were interviewed with a semi-structured interview (the WHO Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry, version 2.0). 269 patients with a current DSM-IV MDD were included in the study and further interviewed with semi-structured interviews to assess all other axis I and II psychiatric diagnoses. Exclusion criteria were DSM-IV bipolar I and II, schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia or another psychosis, organic and substance-induced mood disorders. In the present study are included those 193 (139 females, 54 males) individuals who could be followed up at both 6 and 18 months, and their depression had remained unipolar. Personality was investigated with the EPI. Personality dimensions associated not only to the symptoms of depression, but also to the symptoms of anxiety among general population and in depressive patients, as well as to comorbid disorders in MDD patients, supporting the dimensional view of depression and anxiety. Among the general population High Harm Avoidance and low Self-Directedness associated moderately, whereas low extraversion and high neuroticism strongly with the depressive and anxiety symptoms. The personality dimensions, especially high Harm Avoidance, low Self-Directedness and high neuroticism were also somewhat predictive of self-reported use of health care services for psychiatric reasons, and lifetime mental disorder. Moreover, high Harm Avoidance associated with a family history of mental disorder. In depressive patients, neuroticism scores were found to decline markedly and extraversion scores to increase somewhat with recovery. The predictive value of the changes in symptoms of depression and anxiety in explaining follow-up neuroticism was about 1/3 of that of baseline neuroticism. In contrast to neuroticism, the scores of extraversion showed no dependence on the symptoms of anxiety, and the change in the symptoms of depression explained only 1/20 of the follow-up extraversion compared with baseline extraversion. No evidence was found of the scar effect during a one-year follow-up period. Finally, even after controlling for symptoms of both depression and anxiety, depressive patients had a somewhat higher level of neuroticism (odds ratio 1.11, p=0.001) and a slightly lower level of extraversion (odds ratio 0.92, p=0.003) than subjects in the general population. Among MDD patients, a positive dose-exposure relationship appeared to exist between neuroticism and prevalence and number of comorbid axis I and II disorders. A negative relationship existed between level of extraversion and prevalence of comorbid social phobia and cluster C personality disorders. Personality dimensions are associated with the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Futhermore these findings support the hypothesis that high neuroticism and somewhat low extraversion might be vulnerability factors for MDD, and that high neuroticism and low extraversion predispose to comorbid axis I and II disorders among patients with MDD.

个体人格类型与气味偏好的关系

So far the studies on personality are based on indirect way due to the complexity and limitation. Present research attempt to find another route to approach personality through olfaction. The framework of present research is on account of a modern personality theory model produced by the British psychologist Eysenck. The aim of present research is to prove a correlation between olfaction and personality because sensation and perception of the olfaction on special part of brain closely related to emotional arousal. This research was carefully designed and performed by both psychological questionnaire and olfaction examination. The results indicated some good correlation between smell sense and personal character, which can by applied into personality and behavior analysis.

Personality analysis of patients complaining of sialorrhoea

BACKGROUND: Sialorrhoea, the symptom of apparent excessive secretion of saliva is a relatively uncommon complaint. Some authors consider that in the absence of clinical findings, then these patients have a psychiatric disorder masquerading as a physical illness. However, there is little evidence in the literature to support this conclusion and a detailed psychological assessment of this population has not previously been reported. METHODS: In total, 18 patients and 18 age- and sex-matched controls were studied. All had a history of a complaint of excess salivation in the absence of any oral mucosal or systemic abnormality. All patients completed an Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. RESULTS: There were no differences in the extroversion of psychoticism scores between the study and control group. However, the result showed significant increases in the neuroticism and Lie Scale score in the patient group. CONCLUSIONS: The overall results of this study indicate that the complaint of sialorrhoea in otherwise healthy individuals does not have an organic basis and suggest that sialorrhoea is associated with high levels of neuroticism and a tendency to dissimulate. © Blackwell Munksgaard 2006. All rights reserved.

The personality of “aggressive” and “non-aggressive” dog owners

The relationship between pet-keeping and owner personality has attracted considerable attention. Little focus, however, has been directed towards the personality of pet owners in relation to the type of pet owned. This study therefore explored the personality of pet owners in relation to the type of dog breed owned, focusing specifically on owners of breeds widely considered to be “aggressive” versus those more generally perceived as “non-aggressive”. One hundred and forty seven owners of “aggressive” (German shepherd dogs, Rottweilers) or “non-aggressive” (Labrador retrievers, Golden retrievers) dog breeds completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire short scale. Breed of dog owned was significantly related to owners’ psychoticism scores, with people who kept “aggressive” dogs having significantly higher scores on this trait than owners of “non-aggressive” dogs. Dog breed ownership was not significantly related to neuroticism, extraversion or lie scale scores, although male owners of “aggressive” dogs were found to be significantly less neurotic than women who kept “aggressive” or “non-aggressive” dogs. Overall, findings suggest that there is a significant relationship between dog breed ownership and specific personality traits, with owners of breeds widely considered to be “aggressive” harbouring more psychotic tendencies than people who choose to keep dogs with a reputedly less aggressive temperament.

Evaluation of Four Designed Virtual Agent Personalities

Convincing conversational agents require a coherent set of behavioral responses that can be interpreted by a human observer as indicative of a personality. This paper discusses the continued development and subsequent evaluation of virtual agents based on sound psychological principles. We use Eysenck's theoretical basis to explain aspects of the characterization of our agents, and we describe an architecture where personality affects the agent's global behavior quality as well as their back-channel productions. Drawing on psychological research, we evaluate perception of our agents' personalities and credibility by human viewers (N = 187). Our results suggest that we succeeded in validating theoretically grounded indicators of personality in our virtual agents, and that it is feasible to place our characters on Eysenck's scales. A key finding is that the presence of behavioral characteristics reinforces the prescribed personality profiles that are already emerging from the still images. Our long-term goal is to enhance agents' ability to sustain realistic interaction with human users, and we discuss how this preliminary work may be further developed to include more systematic variation of Eysenck's personality scales. © 2012 IEEE.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reaxys Database Information|

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second-to-Fourth Digit Ratio and Impulsivity: A Comparison between Offenders and Nonoffenders

Personality characteristics, particularly impulsive tendencies, have long been conceived as the primary culprit in delinquent behavior. One crucial question to emerge from this line of work is whether impulsivity has a biological basis. To test this possibility, 44 male offenders and 46 nonoffenders completed the Eysenck Impulsivity Questionnaire, and had their 2D:4D ratio measured. Offenders exhibited smaller right hand digit ratio measurements compared to non-offenders, but higher impulsivity scores. Both impulsivity and 2D:4D ratio measurements significantly predicted criminality (offenders vs. nonoffenders). Controlling for education level, the 2D:4D ratio measurements had remained a significant predictor of criminality, while impulsivity scores no longer predicted criminality significantly. Our data, thus, indicates that impulsivity but not 2D:4D ratio measurements relate to educational attainment. As offenders varied in their number of previous convictions and the nature of their individual crimes, we also tested for differences in 2D:4D ratio and impulsivity among offenders. Number of previous convictions did not correlate significantly with the 2D:4D ratio measurements or impulsivity scores. Our study established a link between a biological marker and impulsivity among offenders (and lack thereof among non-offenders), which emphasise the importance of studying the relationship between biological markers, impulsivity and criminal behavior.

Capacidade para o trabalho e função executiva

O presente trabalho pretende caracterizar a associação existente entre a função cognitiva executiva e a capacidade para o trabalho em profissionais de saúde (médicos e enfermeiros) e profissionais de educação (professores). A função cognitiva executiva é definida como uma série de processos cognitivos de ordem superior (capacidade de planeamento, raciocínio abstrato, flexibilidade cognitiva e resolução de problemas) determinantes no controlo e coordenação de operações cognitivas e fundamentais na organização e monitorização do comportamento humano. A integridade destas funções, são determinantes para a realização adequada de tarefas da vida diária, incluindo o contexto organizacional. A capacidade para trabalho é um forte preditor do desempenho laboral, sendo definida como a autoavaliação que o trabalhador faz do seu bem-estar no presente e no futuro próximo e da capacidade para assegurar o seu trabalho tendo em conta as exigências do mesmo, a saúde e os recursos psicológicos e cognitivos disponíveis. Assim, com o objetivo de compreender a relação entre estas duas variáveis em médicos, enfermeiros e professores, no presente trabalho utilizamos uma amostra composta por 218 sujeitos, sendo que 93 são enfermeiros, 100 professores (ensino secundário) e 25 médicos. Para avaliar as funções cognitivas executivas, nomeadamente a flexibilidade cognitiva e raciocínio abstrato não-verbal utilizamos o Halstead Category Test (HCT). Para avaliar a capacidade de planeamento e resolução de problemas, utilizamos a Torre de Hanoi (TH). Para determinamos o valor da capacidade para o trabalho, utilizamos o índice de capacidade para o trabalho. No sentido de controlar variáveis que poderiam influenciar esta relação, utilizamos Questionário Geral de Saúde (GHQ-12), escala de ansiedade-traço, Questionário de Personalidade de Eysenck, escala de satisfação no trabalho e uma questão dicotómica (Sim/Não) sobre o trabalho por turnos. Pela análise dos resultados, verificamos que alterações nas funções cognitivas executivas poderão prejudicar a capacidade para o trabalho. No entanto, verificamos que variáveis como a idade, trabalho por turnos, personalidade e saúde mental poderão exercer um efeito moderador desta relação. Por fim, em comparação com médicos, enfermeiros e professores, verificamos que os médicos e enfermeiros apresentam um maior prejuízo nas funções cognitivas executivas que os professores, mas não na capacidade para o trabalho. Como conclusão, o nosso trabalho contribuiu para uma melhor compreensão da ação das funções executivas em contexto laboral (em particular na área da saúde e educação), contribuindo para o desenvolvimento e implementação de programas de promoção de saúde laboral em contexto organizacional.

Traços de personalidade, estados emocionais e condução : um estudo comparativo entre condutores de ambos os sexos

Tese de doutoramento, Ciências e Tecnologias da Saúde (Desenvolvimento Humano e Social), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina, 2014

La ansiedad del niño en el hospital.

Determinar el grado de ansiedad subsecuente a la hospitalización del niño. Comprobar la respuesta de ansiedad del niño a la intervención quirúrgica. Comprobar si diversas técnicas de intervención psicológica tales como la información, comunicación, ludoterapia y terapia de grupo son capaces de moderar la respuesta de ansiedad del niño en el hospital. 135 niños con edad entre 3 y 12 años, 75 de los cuales fueron extraídos al azar de los ingresados en el Hospital Materno Infantil Nuestra Señora de Covadonga Oviedo y constituían el grupo experimental. El resto eran niños no hospitalizados y constituían el grupo de control. Las variables medidas fueron las siguientes: inteligencia, personalidad, estado emocional, ansiedad, frecuencia cardiaca, tensión. El diseño de la investigación se hizo teniendo en cuenta dos subgrupos dentro del grupo experimental: niños hospitalizados para ser intervenidos quirúrgicamente y niños hospitalizados por enfermedad. Tanto estos grupos como el de control se subdividen en tres grupos: de 3 a 5 años, de 6 a 8 años y de 9 a 12. Las variables son medidas en el momento del ingreso y antes de la salida del hospital. Entre ambas mediciones se introducen técnicas de intervención psicológica: información, comunicación, ludoterapia y dinámica de grupos, para comprobar su efecto sobre la ansiedad del niño. Inteligencia: Terman Merril para 3 a 5 años y matrices progresivas de Raven para los niños de 6 a 12 años. Personalidad: ESPO de Coan y Catell, EPQJ de Eysenck. Ansiedad: CDS de Lang y Tisher y una escala de ansiedad elaborada para esta investigación, asimismo se registra periódicamente el ritmo cardiaco y la tensión arterial, estado emocional: test del árbol, de la familia. Se obtienen diferencias significativas entre el grupo de niños hospitalizados y no hospitalizados en: ansiedad, frecuencia cardiaca, tensión máxima y tensión mínima. Idénticas diferencias excepto la tensión mínima se dan entre el grupo de los hospitalizados por enfermedad y los operados. En el análisis por grupos de edad también resultan diferencias significativas en: ansiedad, frecuencia cardiaca y tensión máxima entre los grupos de niños hospitalizados para operar que han recibido intervención psicológica y los que no la han recibido. Igualmente en el análisis de los grupos de edad se encuentran diferencias significativas para los distintos parámetros. La hospitalización aumenta de forma estadísticamente significativa la ansiedad del niño, en todas las edades. La introducción de técnicas psicológicas con el fin de disminuir la ansiedad produjo resultados satisfactorios en función de las significaciones estadísticas obtenidas.

Análisis de un estudio acerca de la memoria de caras.

Se plantean dos hipótesis sobre memoria de caras. Hipótesis de elaboración: el recuerdo de las caras es una función del aumento del número de facciones codificadas al estudiarlas. Hipótesis de procesamiento de rasgos: tiene un efecto de superioridad la condición de rasgos en la memoria facial como evidencia del papel de factores afectivos en el recuerdo. Este trabajo se plantea dos hipótesis: 1.-El tratamiento de rasgos de Zanjon o tratamiento 2 es superior en el recuerdo de caras al tratamiento 1 o de rasgos físicos. 2.-Los sujetos introvertidos tendrán un recuerdo claramente superior los que participen del tratamiento 2 que los que participen en el tratamiento 1. 112 alumnos de séptimo de EGB del Colegio Virgen Milagrosa de Oviedo. Se seleccionaron 100 fotografías. En la fase de atención se aplicó a la muestra dos tratamientos de forma aleatoria: el tratamiento 1 que investiga la hipótesis de elaboración y el tratamiento 2 que investiga la hipótesis de rasgos. En la fase de recuerdo se pasó una hoja con 100 ítems para que señalaran 'sí' si recordaban la foto y 'no' si la foto les era extraña. Variables dependientes: condición de recuerdo, porcentaje de aciertos, errores y falsas alarmas. Variables independientes: clase social, horas que las niñas pasan con sus padres, edad, media de notas en general, nota media en Lengua e Idiomas, nota media en Matemáticas y Música, CI, neuroticismo, extraversión, psicoticismo, sinceridad y bilingüismo. Factor G de Cattell, EPQ-J de Eysenck y las dos fases de atención y recuerdo. No se puede concluir que se lograra poner a prueba la hipótesis de rasgos ya que sólo fue significativa la diferencia entre los dos tratamientos en el avar respecto a los errores. Respecto a la segunda hipótesis, sí se ha probado con creces que los introvertidos mejoran el recuerdo con el tratamiento de rasgos. Estos resultados no son muy representativos de la población general ya que sólo se pasó en personas del sexo femenino y además muy jovenes. Sería bueno saber qué componente de la introversión es la que define más la eficacia en el recuerdo y qué rasgo psicológico es el que más pesa en la predicción.

Predicción del rendimiento en EGB : un estudio longitudinal.

Seguir a los alumnos de un centro escolar a través de los ocho cursos de la Educación General Básica. Analizar las principales características intelectuales, psicológicas y sociales de los mismos. Elaborar, en función de diversas variables, un perfil de los alumnos que tienen éxito y de los que fracasan en la EGB. Muestra de 102 alumnos del Colegio Baudilio Arce de Oviedo, que habiendo cursado primero de EGB en 1977-78, aún permanecían en el colegio en el momento de la investigación. Variable dependiente: el rendimiento académico, medido a través de las calificaciones escolares. Variables independientes: 1. Pedagógicas: inteligencia, rendimiento en cursos anteriores y hábitos de estudio; 2. Psicológicas: personalidad, intereses, autoconcepto; 3. Sociales: trabajo de los padres y composición de la familia. Para medir estas variables se establecen dos grupos de sujetos: el de repetidores (uno o dos cursos) y el de no repetidores. D-48: factor G de inteligencia. TEA uno y dos: aptitudes. Test de lectura silenciosa de Fernández Huerta. Test monedas uno: aptitudes numéricas. IHE de Pozar para los hábitos de estudio. EPQJ de Eysenck: personalidad. CPP de Luján para intereses profesionales. Contraste de medias para ver si existen diferencias significativas entre los dos grupos. Coeficientes de correlación y regresión múltiple para ver la correlación entre las variables independiente y la dependiente. Análisis de la estabilidad de los coeficientes de correlación de Pearson. Análisis de varianza para ver la influencia del retraso escolar en el rendimiento final. Análisis discriminante para ver las variables que mejor explican el rendimiento y configurar en base a ellas los perfiles de dos grupos de alumnos: los que tienen éxito y los que fracasan en la EGB. El rendimiento en cursos anteriores es el mejor determinante del rendimiento final. La inteligencia es un determinante importante del rendimiento fundamentalmente en los primeros cursos. Las dimensiones básicas de la personalidad poseen un valor muy limitado en la explicación del rendimiento. El autoconcepto académico es un factor básico en la determinación del rendimiento. Del análisis discriminante se desprende que las variables de tipo pedagógico discriminan mejor a los sujetos. Como conclusiones finales se señalan una serie de características que configuran el perfil psicopedagógico de los estudiantes de peor rendimiento: menor capacidad para adquirir los conocimientos impartidos por el centro escolar. Mayor reacción emocional de ansiedad. Mayor hostilidad en sus relaciones sociales. Peor autoconcepto de sí mismo como persona y como estudiante. Un menor nivel de aspiraciones profesionales.

El adolescente en relación a la droga.

Determinar en una muestra de estudiantes de Enseñanza Secundaria, la prevalencia en el uso de drogas, los factores asociados al uso de las mismas y la identificación de grupos de sujetos de alto riesgo. La encuesta se realizó a 2059 estudiantes de BUP, COU y Formación Profesional, de los cuales se eliminaron 139, por no superar el test de sinceridad por lo que la muestra quedó en 1.902. Los alumnos pertenecen a diferentes localidades de la región: Sama, Grado, Mieres, Avilés, Oviedo, etc.. Las variables de estudio se pueden agrupar en los siguientes bloques: las referidas a los datos de identificación: edad, sexo, estudios realizados, dedicación docente, etc. Consumo de drogas, tanto las institucionalizadas como las no institucionalizadas: tabáco, alcohol, cannabis, cocaína, anfetaminas, alucinógenos etc. Se estudia también la variable tiempo en que se han consumido las drogas: últimos 30 días, últimos 12 meses, edad de iniciación... Se controla también la variable de sinceridad y franqueza del encuestado. Cuestionario de la Organización Mundial de la Salud, elaborado por un grupo de trabajo de dicha organización, reunido en Ginebra en 1975 y cuyos resultados han sido analizados en otros países. Consta de 22 preguntas y es autoadministrable. Para medir el grado de sinceridad se utilizó el cuestionario de personalidad de Eysenck, que contienen una escala que permite detectar este factor. Con los datos obtenidos de las distintas variables se ha procedido a un análisis estadístico de los resultados respecto al consumo, relacionado éste con el sexo, la edad, el curso académico, y el tipo de droga utilizada. Para efectuar el análisis se han calculado los valores de las frecuencias, porcentajes, medias. Se calcula el valor del Chi cuadrado y de la probabilidad para ver los niveles de significación de las diferencias. El porcentaje de consumidores de drogas no institucionalizadas resulto ser del 28,6 por ciento. Se dan diferencias significativas en el consumo en razón del sexo. Hay un 38,2 por ciento de varones consumidores frente a un 21,1 por ciento de mujeres. La edad media de los consumidores fue de 16,8 años los varones y de 16,9 las mujeres. La droga de consumo más extendida fue el cannabis (20,7 por ciento). En segundo lugar estaban los tranquilizantes (10,9 por ciento). Se constata que el consumo aumenta a la vez que la edad y el curso académico. A lo largo del estudio practicado se aprecia claramente cómo las drogas no institucionalizadas han pasado a formar parte de los hábitos de la juventud, lo cual debe tenerse en cuenta de cara a la adopción de medidas preventivas. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo aportar datos que permitan un mejor conocimiento del problema en la región asturiana.