Personality variables and eating, drinking, and smoking in adult women

Personality variables of discipline, social competence, sophistication, and religiosity were studied in relation to eating, drinking, and smoking behaviors. Discipline was conceptualized as the intrapsychic predisposition to engage in indulgent behavior, and the remaining personality variables were seen as potentially moderating its form of expression. Data were contributed by 766 female volunteers aged 20 to 30 years, sorted to yield 2 quasirepresentative samples of 265 participants each. A subsample of 64 participants repeated the questionnaire after 3 months, and all measures had acceptable properties. Analyses involving discipline supported its general relevance to a broad range of behaviors, and social competence, sophistication, and religiosity were selectively relevant as anticipated. Overall, the personality variables had stronger links with drinking status, smoking status, and drinking level than with eating behavior or smoking level.