Although personality factors and family history of substance abuse influence how individuals experience pain and respond to analgesics, the combined effects of those factors have not been extensively studied.
The objective of this study was to consider the possible role of personality trait of neuroticism and family history of alcoholism on the experience of pain and their role in the analgesic response to an ethanolchallenge.
The analgesic effect of ethanol was mediated by an interaction between the personality trait of neuroticism and family history. Individuals with family history of alcoholism and high N scores reported significantly more analgesia on low dose of ethanol than those with low N scores. There was no difference in the analgesic response to ethanol among FHNs with low and high N scores.
These findings support the conclusion that neuroticism and family history of alcoholism both influence the analgesic response of alcohol. Individuals with high N scores and FHP have the strongest response to ethanol analgesia particularly on the low exposure to alcohol.
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