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Meta-Analysis
. 2015 Nov;110(11):1844-52.
doi: 10.1111/add.13079. Epub 2015 Aug 22.

Personality and smoking: individual-participant meta-analysis of nine cohort studies

Christian Hakulinen  1 , Mirka Hintsanen  1   2 , Marcus R Munafò  3 , Marianna Virtanen  4 , Mika Kivimäki  5   6 , George David Batty  5   7   8 , Markus Jokela  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Personality and smoking: individual-participant meta-analysis of nine cohort studies

Christian Hakulinen et al. Addiction. 2015 Nov.

Abstract

Aims: To investigate cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between personality and smoking, and test whether socio-demographic factors modify these associations.

Design: Cross-sectional and longitudinal individual-participant meta-analysis.

Setting: Nine cohort studies from Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Participants: A total of 79 757 men and women (mean age = 50.8 years).

Measurements: Personality traits of the five-factor model (extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience) were used as exposures. Outcomes were current smoking status (current smoker, ex-smoker and never smoker), smoking initiation, smoking relapse and smoking cessation. Associations between personality and smoking were modelled using logistic and multinomial logistic regression, and study-specific findings were combined using random-effect meta-analysis.

Findings: Current smoking was associated with higher extraversion [odds ratio per 1 standard deviation increase in the score: 1.16; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.08-1.24], higher neuroticism (1.19; 95% CI = 1.13-1.26) and lower conscientiousness (95% CI = 0.88; 0.83-0.94). Among non-smokers, smoking initiation during the follow-up period was predicted prospectively by higher extraversion (1.22; 95% CI = 1.04-1.43) and lower conscientiousness (0.80; 95% CI = 0.68-0.93), whereas higher neuroticism (1.16; 95% CI = 1.04-1.30) predicted smoking relapse among ex-smokers. Among smokers, smoking cessation was negatively associated with neuroticism (0.91; 95% CI = 0.87-0.96). Socio-demographic variables did not appear to modify the associations between personality and smoking.

Conclusions: Adult smokers have higher extraversion, higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness personality scores than non-smokers. Initiation into smoking is associated positively with higher extraversion and lower conscientiousness, while relapse to smoking among ex-smokers is associated with higher neuroticism.

Keywords: Cohort study; five-factor model; meta-analysis; personality; smoking.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cross-sectional associations between personality traits and current smoking status at the baseline. Values are odds ratios per 1 standard deviation increment in personality trait. Personality traits are adjusted for each other in addition to sex, age and race/ethnicity.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Longitudinal associations between personality traits and smoking initiation, smoking relapse among non-smokers at the baseline, and smoking cessation among smokers at the baseline. Values are odds ratios per 1 standard deviation increment in personality trait. Personality traits are adjusted for each other in addition to sex, age, race/ethnicity, and follow-up time.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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