Smoking behaviour and personality: a population-based study in Japan

Aims. The aim of our study was to determine whether the previously reported findings also apply to a general population in Japan and whether, among current smokers, such personality characteristics can be correlated with the age they started to smoke and their present daily consumption of cigarettes. Design. Cross-sectional survey. Setting. Miyagi prefecture, in northern Japan. Participants. 20 538 residents in Miyagi, aged 40-64 years. Measurement. A self-administered questionnaire involving smoking status (current, ex-and non-smokers) and patterns and the Japanese version of the short-form Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R). Findings. (1) Current and ex-smokers were higher on Extraversion and Psychoticism than non-smokers for both genders. (2) Heavy smokers were higher on Psychoticism than light smokers and those who started to smoke prior to the legally permitted age were higher on Psychoticism than those who did not. Conclusions. (I) Our study confirmed that the findings which had been previously reported in selected samples in western countries also apply to a general population in Japan; (2) current smokers were found to be heterogeneous in terms of Psychoticism when the age they started to smoke and their present daily consumption of cigarettes were taken into account.