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Applying Holland's Theory to Drug Preferences
by Andrew D. Carson, Ph.D.

Holland's (1997) theory of vocational personality may provide a useful framework from which to consider a vocational psychology of substance use and abuse. I will use the term "personal orientation" (as proposed in his original, 1959 theory statement) rather than "vocational personality type," because I am concerned here primarily with the interest-related aspects of the construct. I am also interested in the broader application of a personal orientation, rather than the more strictly vocational focus of the vocational personality type.

I assume that substance use and abuse is largely a function of the desire to create a "virtual" environment that serves to increase the feeling of fit or "congruence" with one's surroundings. The same personal orientations that drive career choice may influence drug choice. Individuals in incongruent occupations may be especially likely to turn to (psychologically) congruent drugs in an effort to create a better fitting environment, even one that is "artificial" and drug-induced.

During a practicum in the assessment of inpatients at the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Unit at the Austin State Hospital in 1989, I had the opportunity to survey its staff regarding the drugs they anticipated individuals across each of Holland's orientations would be likely to abuse. I gave each of the 12 participating staff a sheet with six sets of adjectives (each set reflecting a Holland orientation, and drawn from Holland's 1985 theory statement), and asked them to list the drugs that group would be likely to abuse. Only the adjectives were listed, and not the name of the personal orientation. With near unanimity, they produced the following list:

The staff members explained that they see a number of patients with the characteristics of Investigative personal orientations who have succumbed to polyaddictions and multiple substance abuse problems; "They are the ones who like to try everything because they are curious." This may suggest why physicians often fall victim to substance abuse problems, despite knowing the risks. None of the staff specifically listed glues, solvents, or any narcotics as being associated with any single personal orientation.

One might generalize from Holland's model that there are likely to exist relations between what we have called vocational interests and underlying general interests that influence not only our choice of occupation but also our preference for just about everything. If the links between personal orientations and drugs are replicable and real, then there may therefore exist a relationship between interests in general and drug preferences.

If there do turn out to be clear relationships between personal orientation (interest type) and drug preference, then there may also exist some direct relationship between the underlying neurological substrate through which interests become activated and the psychoactive mechanisms through which particular drugs achieve their psychoactive effects. For example, if ecstasy does indeed achieve its psychoactive effects by boosting the availability of the neurotransmitter serotonin, and if Social people tend (more than other orientations) tend to prefer ecstasy, then Social interests (or at least social interests for individuals for whom those interests are dominant) may have something going on with their serotonin system. We do know that Social people are at greater risk for experiencing clinical depression (see Lowman, 1997), and that drugs that serve to block reuptake of serotonin (such as Prozac) serve to lessen the symptoms of depression. It may be that Social individuals tend to prefer ecstasy because the drug, like Prozac, tends to create for themselves a serotonin-rich neurotransmitter environment that serves to hold symptoms of depression in abeyance, at least temporarily.

There are some weak (or at least stretched) points in the proposed correspondence between Holland's types and drug preferences. First, because smoking is for many teenagers an act of defiance, rebellion, and "being cool," one might suppose that smoking would be associated with Artistic type (because that type is more closely associated with being nonconforming, independent, open, and disorderly). However, if nicotine functions--at least in chronic users--as a sociability enhancer, then it will be social types that will be most likely to become addicted. Of course, Holland's theory also suggests that the hexagonal organization of types (first noted in the study of correlations between interest scales based on Holland types) may also help to determine degree of "congruence" or fit between person and environment (see figure below).

In this hexagonal ordering (Realistic=R, Invenstigative=I, Artistic=A, Social=S, Enterprising=E, and Conventional=C), Artistic and Social types are adjacent types, and therefore would be most likely to have similar drug preferences. Conventional and Artistic types would be least likely to share drug preferences. Now, although it seems likely that relatively few Conventional type individuals would be likely to seek out LSD (presumably associated with Artistic type), it is likely that there are many Artistic type individuals who use Alcohol, a depressant, and in the proposed model closely associated with Conventional types. Of course, perhaps if hallucinogens were legal and readily available, Artistic types might opt for them over alcohol.

I would caution that any link between Holland's theory of interests and drug use or preferences is at this time speculative. We need to conduct research to test such speculations.

Links
Brief report. The development of the Self-Directed Search, Holland's major instrument to measure vocational personality type (PAR, Inc.).
Brief bio of Holland (Gottfredson Associates).
John L. Holland, from Arizona State University's Career Clinic.
Holland's theory, from Career Development Theory (Maryland's CareerNet).
Holland codes (from Learning For Life).

References to citations in the text.

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Updated March 16, 2008
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