Smoking habits – Associations with personality/behavior, platelet monoamine oxidase activity and plasma thyroid hormone levels

• Published in: Personality and individual differences 2017-11, Vol.118, p.71-76
• Main Authors: af Klinteberg, Britt, Johansson, Sven-Erik, Levander, Maria, Alm, Per Olof, Oreland, Lars
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antisocial behavior; Antisocial personality disorder; Behavior; Childhood; Cigarette smoking; Conformity; Habits; High risk; Hormone levels; Hormones; Impulsivity; Intelligence; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Offenders; Personality; Personality traits; Plasma thyroid hormones; Platelet MAO-B activity; Psychology; psykologi; Risk assessment; Risk behavior; Self evaluation; Smoking; Young adults
• ISSN: 0191-8869; 1873-3549; 1873-3549
• DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2017.05.022

The objective was to outline results from our scientific studies on the associations among childhood behavior, adult personality, and biochemical factors in smoking habits. The studies consisted of: (1) follow-up of young criminals and controls, subdivided into risk for antisocial behavior groups, based on childhood rating levels of a projective test; and adult smoking habit groups; and (2) a large group of young adults examined on the same inventories. Personality in terms of KSP and EPQ-I scale scores, controlled for intelligence, indicated that the high and very high risk groups displayed significantly higher self-rated impulsiveness, anxiety, and nonconformity, as compared to the low risk group. Further, the very high risk group subjects, found to be overrepresented among subjects with heavy smoking habits, displayed lower mean platelet MAO-B activity and higher thyroid hormone levels than the low risk group. Thus, the higher the childhood risk for antisocial behavior, the clearer the adult personality pattern making subjects more disposed for smoking appeared; and the higher smoking habits, the stronger the relationships with biochemical measures. Results are discussed in terms of possible underlying mechanisms influencing personality and smoking habits. Hypothesis about the interactions among behavior, platelet MAO-B activity and Thyroid hormones. Bold green lines-associations investigated in the present study. Dashed line -indirect association. [Display omitted] •Childhood risk behaviors relate to adult personality disposing for smoking.•High smoking habits are strongly connected with MAO-B activity and thyroid levels.•Underlying mechanisms proposed to influence personality and smoking habits.