Cigarette smoking and personality change across adulthood: Findings from five longitudinal samples

Personality changes related to presence and treatment of substance use (disorders): a systematic review

Heavy substance use (SU) and substance use disorders (SUD) have complex etiologies and often severe consequences. Certain personality traits have been associated with an increased risk for SU(D), but far less is known about personality changes related to SU(D). This review aims to synthesize the existing literature on this research question. A systematic literature search was conducted from November 2022 to February 2023 in PubMed, EbscoHost, and Web of Science. Peer-reviewed original papers on SU(D)-related personality changes were included. Of 55 included studies, 38 were observational population-based studies and 17 were intervention studies. Overall, personality and SU measures, samples, study designs, and statistical approaches were highly heterogenous. In observational studies, higher SU was most consistently related to increases in impulsivity-related traits and (less so) neuroticism, while interventions in the context of SU(D) were mostly associated with increases in conscientiousness and self-efficacy and lasting decreases in neuroticism. Findings for traits related to extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness were mixed and depended on SU measure and age. Studies on bidirectional associations suggest that personality and SU(D) both influence each other over time. Due to their strong association with SU(D), impulsivity-related traits may be important target points for interventions. Future work may investigate the mechanisms underlying personality changes related to SU(D), distinguishing substance-specific effects from general SU(D)-related processes like withdrawal, craving, and loss of control. Furthermore, more research is needed to examine whether SU(D)-related personality changes vary by developmental stage and clinical features (e.g. initial use, onset, remission, and relapse).

Personality typologies of smokers and excessive drinkers: a cross-sectional survey of respondents in the BBC Lab UK Study

Background

Several personality traits have been linked to addictive behaviours, including smoking and excessive drinking. We hypothesised that the combination of low conscientiousness, high extraversion and high neuroticism would be synergistically associated with smoking, excessive drinking and both behaviours combined.

Methods

Respondents aged 16+ years ( N=363,454) were surveyed between 2009-2013 as part of the BBC Lab UK Study, with no restrictions on geographical location. Respondents provided information about sociodemographic characteristics, personality traits, and smoking and alcohol consumption. A series of multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted.

Results

No significant three-way but significant two-way interactive effects were observed. The association of high extraversion with smoking was more pronounced in those with high (vs. low) conscientiousness (OR adj=1.51, 95% CI=1.46, 1.56, p<.001; OR adj=1.38, 95% CI=1.35, 1.42, p<.001). The association of high extraversion with excessive drinking was more pronounced in those with low (vs. high) conscientiousness (OR adj=1.70, 95% CI=1.67, 1.74, p<.001; OR adj=1.60, 95% CI=1.56, 1.63, p<.001). The association of high extraversion with both behaviours combined was more pronounced in those with high (vs. low) conscientiousness (OR adj=1.74, 95% CI=1.65, 1.83, p<.001; OR adj=1.62, 95% CI= 1.56, 1.68, p<.001). Results remained largely robust in sensitivity analyses.

Conclusions

In a large international survey, we identified two-way 'personality typologies' that are associated with greater odds of smoking, excessive drinking and both behaviours combined. The results may be useful for the tailoring of behaviour change interventions to at-risk individuals.

Association between personality traits and smoking cessation among Chinese adults

BACKGROUND

Although the tobacco epidemic is one of the greatest public health threats, the smoking cessation rate among Chinese adults is considerably lower. Personality information may indicate which treatments or interventions are more likely to be effective. China is the largest producer and consumer of tobacco worldwide. However, little is known about the association between smoking cessation and personality traits in China.

AIM

This study aimed to examine the association between successful smoking cessation and personality traits among Chinese adults.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study used data from the 2018 China Family Panel Studies. Probit regression models were employed to analyze the association between successful smoking cessation and personality traits stratified by sex.

RESULTS

Lower scores for neuroticism (Coef.=-0.055, p < 0.1), lower scores for extraversion (Coef.=-0.077, p < 0.05), and higher scores for openness to experience (Coef.=0.045, p < 0.1) predicted being a successful male quitter after adjusting for demographics. Moreover, lower scores for conscientiousness (Coef.=-0.150, p < 0.1) predicted being a successful female quitter after adjusting for demographics.

CONCLUSION

The empirical findings suggested that among Chinese men, lower levels of neuroticism, lower levels of extraversion, and higher levels of openness to experience were associated with a higher likelihood of smoking cessation. Moreover, lower levels of conscientiousness were associated with successful smoking cessation among Chinese women. These results showed that personality information should be included in smoking cessation interventions.

Conceptual and methodological issues in the study of the personality-and-culture relationship

Culture-and-personality studies were central to social science in the early 20th century and have recently been revived (as personality-and-culture studies) by trait and cross-cultural psychologists. In this article we comment on conceptual issues, including the nature of traits and the nature of the personality-and-culture relationship, and we describe methodological challenges in understanding associations between features of culture and aspects of personality. We give an overview of research hypothesizing the shaping of personality traits by culture, reviewing studies of indigenous traits, acculturation and sojourner effects, birth cohorts, social role changes, and ideological interventions. We also consider the possibility that aggregate traits affect culture, through psychological means and gene flow. In all these cases we highlight alternative explanations and the need for designs and analyses that strengthen the interpretation of observations. We offer a set of testable hypotheses based on the premises that personality is adequately described by Five-Factor Theory, and that observed differences in aggregate personality traits across cultures are veridical. It is clear that culture has dramatic effects on the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors from which we infer traits, but it is not yet clear whether, how, and in what degree culture shapes traits themselves.

Income moderates changes in big-five personality traits across eighteen years

The role of income in adult personality change remains poorly understood. Using latent growth modeling, we performed exploratory analyses of how longitudinal trajectories of change in personal income and the Big Five personality traits would be related. We examined 4234 participants (2149 Males, 2085 Females; MT1age = 46.42, SDT1age = 13.36, age range at T1: 20–74 years) across three time points spanning 18 years using data from the Midlife in the United States study. Results indicated that starting levels of income moderated changes in four personality traits. Specifically, income moderated the slopes of openness to experience, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, such that for high-income individuals, openness to experience, extraversion, and agreeableness were less likely to decline and more likely to either increase or remain stable over time, while neuroticism was less likely to increase and more likely to remain stable over time. Conversely, personality traits were weaker predictors of income change as slopes of income were not moderated by starting levels of any of the personality traits. Moreover, changes in income were not correlated with changes in any of the personality traits. The findings suggest that individual differences in income could potentially explain diverging trajectories of personality change.

Stability of and change in substance use risk personality: Gender differences and smoking cigarettes among early adolescents

OBJECTIVE

Adolescents show a steadily increasing inclination toward health risk behaviors, including smoking cigarettes. There is ample evidence that personality traits are related to smoking behavior. However, less is known about the stability of and change in these personality traits during early adolescence and whether smoking behavior affects the developmental trajectories. Moreover, less is known about the influence of gender on the course of personality.

METHOD

Longitudinal data of three waves were used from 1121 early adolescents. To measure personality, the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale was used. Individual growth curve models were conducted to measure the stability, mean-level change and individual differences in change for personality.

RESULTS

Stability of personality was moderate for boys and ranged from moderate to high for girls. On average early adolescents became more impulsive and more sensation seeking over a period of 18 months. Furthermore, hopelessness for girls increased and the increase in sensation seeking was higher for girls than for boys. Third, smoking behavior was related to all personality traits, indicating that smoking adolescents are more anxious, hopeless, impulsive and sensation seeking than non-smoking adolescents.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results are in line with the disruption hypothesis, i.e., during early adolescence there is a dip in personality maturity. There are clear differences between girls and boys in stability of and change in personality traits. Besides, although smoking behavior is related to personality, the change in personality is probably related to other variables.

Association of characters and temperaments with cigarette and waterpipe dependence among a sample of Lebanese adults

It was discovered that the relation between certain personality traits and nicotine dependence differs among ethnicities and cultures; therefore, this study was conducted to determine which temperaments and personality traits are associated with smoking dependence in order to contribute to the development of effective and targeted interventions for smoking dependence within the Lebanese population. A cross-sectional study was carried out between March and April 2020 among a sample of Lebanese adults from all Lebanese governorates. The sample included (N = 501) divided as follows: 62 (12.4%) nonsmokers, 37 (7.4%) cigarette smokers, 266 (53.1%) waterpipe smokers, and 136 (27.1%) mixed smokers. Higher cooperativeness (B = - 0.03) was significantly associated with lower waterpipe dependence. High vs. low education level (B = - 0.97), female gender compared to males (B = - 1.07), higher cooperativeness (B = - 0.01), and higher self-transcendence (B = - 0.01) were significantly associated with lower cigarette dependence, whereas higher age (B = 0.03) was significantly associated with higher cigarette dependence. A multinomial regression analysis, taking the smoking group as the dependent variable, showed that higher harm avoidance (aOR = 0.97) and novelty seeking (aOR = 0.97) were significantly associated with lower cigarette smoking. A high level of education vs. a low one (aOR = 8.85) was significantly associated with higher cigarette smoking. Higher self-transcendence was significantly associated with lower mixed smoking. Being married vs. single (aOR = 2.46) was significantly associated with higher odds of being a mixed smoker, whereas female gender compared to males (aOR = 0.41) was significantly associated with lower odds of being a mixed smoker. These results are pivotal in understanding the relationship between personality and smoking dependence.

Memory and Personality Development in Adulthood: Evidence From Four Longitudinal Studies

OBJECTIVES

Personality traits have been related to concurrent memory performance. Most studies, however, have focused on personality as a predictor of memory; comparatively less is known about whether memory is related to personality development across adulthood. Using 4 samples, the present study tests whether memory level and change are related to personality change in adulthood.

METHOD

Participants were drawn from 2 waves of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study Graduates (WLSG; N = 3,232, mean age = 64.28, SD = 0.65) and Wisconsin Longitudinal Study Siblings (WLSS; N = 1,570, mean age = 63.52, SD = 6.69) samples, the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS; N = 1,901, mean age = 55.43, SD = 10.98), and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; N = 6,038, mean age = 65.47, SD = 8.28). Immediate and delayed recall and the 5 major personality traits were assessed at baseline and follow-up.

RESULTS

There was heterogeneity in the associations across samples. A meta-analysis of latent change in the four samples indicated that lower baseline memory performance was related to an increase in neuroticism (B = -0.002; 95% CI = -0.004, -0.0008) and a decrease in agreeableness (B = 0.004; 95% CI = 0.002, 0.007) and conscientiousness (B = 0.005; 95% CI = 0.0008, 0.010). In addition, declines in memory were related to steeper declines in extraversion (B = 0.06; 95% CI = 0.003, 0.11), openness (B = 0.04; 95% CI = 0.007, 0.069), and conscientiousness (B = 0.05; 95% CI = 0.019, 0.09).

DISCUSSION

The present study indicates that poor memory and declines in memory over time are related to maladaptive personality change. These associations, however, were small and inconsistent across samples.

Negative affect among daily smokers: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Negative Affect (NA), as a personality trait is a tendency towards experiencing a more negative emotion. The body of research suggests that NA encourages smoking relapse and smoking as a reason for NA reduction, though. The likelihood of this connection does not seem to be bright yet. The present study critically reviews researches to synthesize the existing literature to determine the strength of this linkage.

METHODS

Key-word related research was systematically searched in PubMed, PsychINFO, Science Direct and Google Scholar for studies conducted from 1980 to 2019, followed by, the assessment and selection of retrieved studies based on defined inclusion criteria. A random-effects meta-analysis model was used to examine the prospective relationship between NA and smoking. Meta-regression was also used to dig for possible explanations of heterogeneity. Furthermore a multi-moderators model and sub-group analyses examined the moderating factors.

RESULTS

Forty effect-sizes comprising 12 cross-sectional studies, 28 longitudinal studies and 24,913 participants were included in the meta-analysis. The forest plot of the pooled correlation effect size in the random model indicates a significant effect size of the relationship between NA and smoking (r = 0.11; 95%CI 0.071-0.15, P = 0.001) in the meta-analysis with high heterogeneity (Q = 473.916; df=39; P = 0.001; I2=91.77%). Also, the pooled effect size was obtained as 0.143 (95%CI 0.071-0.214) for light-to-moderate and 0.112 (95%CI 0.057-0.166) for moderate-to-heavy smokers, with the effect size ranging from 0.061 to 0.195 which was significant among all subtypes, though this trend seem higher among adolescents, males, and longitudinal studies than in adults, females, and cross-sectional studies.

LIMITATIONS

The review was limited to English articles, and the heterogeneity of the studies were high.

CONCLUSION

These results support the notion that NA was positively and weakly linked to smoking and this linkage is stronger in light-to-moderate smokers, males, and adolescents. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed with the aim of extending future directions on NA and smoking.