Personality, smoking motivation, and self-efficacy to quit

Two studies are described which investigated the association between personality and smoking motivation. In the first study, 167 cigarette smokers completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire––Revised, the Self-Administered Nicotine Dependency Scale, and the Smoking Motivation Questionnaire. Personality was associated with smoking motivation, with more neurotic individuals smoking for negative affect control, and more introverted individuals smoking for social skills enhancement. Results of the first study also show that smoking motivation is associated with self-efficacy to quit, with low self-efficacy being associated with automatic habitual smoking, negative affect control, and social skills deficit. In the second study, 100 cigarette smokers completed the Schizotypal Traits Questionnaire, Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and the Smoking Motivation Questionnaire. Depression was specifically associated with smoking for negative affect control whereas schizotypy was associated with smoking for intellectual and sensory stimulation.