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

TitleCigarette smoking and personality change across adulthood: Findings from five longitudinal samples
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2019
AuthorsStephan, Y, Sutin, AR, Luchetti, M, Caille, P, Terracciano, A
JournalJournal of Research in Personality
Volume81
Pagination187 - 194
Type of ArticleJournal
ISSN Number0092-6566
KeywordsCigarette smoking, longitudinal study, Personality change
Abstract

Personality traits are related to cigarette smoking. However, little is known about the link between smoking and change in personality. Therefore, the present study examined whether current cigarette smoking and smoking cessation are associated with personality change across adulthood. Participants (n = 15,572) aged from 20 to 92 years were drawn from five longitudinal cohorts with follow-ups that ranged from 4 to 20 years. Compared to non-smokers, current smokers were more likely to increase on neuroticism and to decline on extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness over time. Compared to the persistent smokers, those who quit had a steeper decline in agreeableness. Cigarette smoking is related to detrimental personality changes across adulthood, and the pattern was not improved by smoking cessation.

URLhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092656618300825
DOI10.1016/j.jrp.2019.06.006
Citation KeySTEPHAN2019187