Personality traits and nicotine dependence in college students

Abstract

Personality traits may play an important role in the smoking habit. This study aimed to investigate differences in personality traits among college smokers and nonsmokers. The sample was composed by 93 students from private higher education institution in São Paulo state, aged between 18 and 25 years. Of these, 40 were smokers (28 with low dependency and 12 with moderate dependency) and 53 nonsmokers. A questionnaire on sociodemographic data, Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence and Battery Factor Personality was applied. The results revealed significantly higher scores for smokers on searching for news and openness while nonsmokers had significantly higher scores on the vulnerability, pro-sociality, trust and commitment. Significant association was found with nicotine dependence only on confidence in people. It is hoped that the results can be used to improve the performance of psychologists in the smoking area.