Personality influences on change in smoking behavior.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate associations between personality traits in early adulthood (and changes in them) and change in smoking status.


METHODS
Prospective, longitudinal study of a general-population birth cohort.


METHODS
We measured smoking at ages 18, 26, and 32, and personality at ages 18 and 26 using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (Tellegen & Waller, in press). We assessed personality's ability to predict future smoking, and assessed how changes in personality traits relate to change in smoking status.


RESULTS
Higher aggression and alienation at age 18 predicted smoking at 26; higher self-control and traditionalism at age 18 predicted nonsmoking at 26; and higher alienation at age 26 predicted persistence of smoking to age 32. Personality change between 18 and 26 was associated with change in smoking behavior; those who stopped smoking decreased more than others in negative emotionality and increased more in constraint.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that interventions fostering personality change may be effective in reducing smoking and indicate appropriate targets for such antismoking interventions in young people. In particular, high alienation predicted smoking persistence, perhaps due to resistance to existing antismoking messages; we discuss approaches that may overcome this.
Welch
David
D
Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Otago, New Zealand. david.welch@dmhdru.otago.ac.nz
Poulton
Richie
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D002605:Character; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012918:Social Alienation; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult