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One’s Personality Traits Have An Influence on Their Tobacco Use Behaviour

A study published on Addictive Behaviors found that one of the well renowned Big Five higher-order personality traits, Neuroticism, is highly associated with nicotine addiction.

Diane Caruana

July 27, 2020

It is widely known that neuroticism (the tendency to experience feelings such as anxiety, worry, fear, anger, depression and other negative emotions on a frequent basis) is linked with a higher likelihood of substance use including cigarette/nicotine addiction. Titled, “The Influence of Neuroticism in Terms of E-cigarette Dependence and Beliefs About Use and Quitting Among Dual Users of Combustible and Electronic Cigarettes,” the current study aimed to determine whether this is also the case with regards to vaping.

A link between neuroticism and e-cigarette dependence was identified and this is not surprising given that most vapers are ex-smokers.

The researchers analyzed data collected from a cross-sectional survey of 437 dual combustible cigarette and e-cigarette users. The compiled results did indeed indicate a relationship between neuroticism and e-cigarette dependence, and this is not surprising given that most vapers are ex-smokers.

“Results indicated that neuroticism was significantly, positively related to e-cigarette dependence (ΔR2 = 0.02, p < .001), expectancies about the negative effects of e-cigarettes (ΔR2 = 0.03, p < .001), and perceived barriers for quitting e-cigarettes (ΔR2 = 0.10, p < .001),” read the study Abstract. To this effect, concluded the researchers, further studies exploring the role of neuroticism in smoking and vaping addictions are required.

Cigarettes are more addictive than e-cigarettes

Meanwhile, a recent cross-sectional study published in Addiction, looked into and compared dependence on e-cigarettes and cigarettes, amongst US adults. Titled, “Dependence on e-cigarettes and cigarettes in a cross-sectional study of US adults,” the study analysed cross-sectional data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study from 2013-2016.

Psychometrically-assessed dependence was compared for smokers and vapers among current, former and dual users of both products and among e-cigarette users who had, and had not, recently quit smoking. The researchers found that contrary to media reports, dependence on e-cigarettes appears to be consistently lower than that on regular cigarettes.