The role of substance use and psychosocial characteristics in explaining unintentional injuries

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between the use of various substances and selected psychosocial characteristics with unintentional injury. Cross-sectional data was collected from groups of subjects in treatment for a primary problem with cocaine (n = 300), cannabis (n = 128), alcohol (n = 110), other drugs (n = 35), tobacco (n = 249), or gambling (n = 199). Subjects completed a self-administered questionnaire that included questions on various psychosocial scales (i.e., risk-taking/impulsivity, chronic stress, coping, and social supports), frequency of drug and alcohol use, and unintentional injuries in the year prior to treatment. For the univariate analyses, both frequency of cocaine and cannabis use, risk-taking/impulsivity, stress, and coping were significantly related to injuries. For the multivariate analyses, only risk-taking/impulsivity, stress, age, and sex were significantly related to injuries. The results provide important information regarding factors associated with reported injuries among individuals in addiction treatment.