Journal o! Studies on Alcohol, Vol. 37, No. 7, 1976
Alcoholism, Cigarette Smoking, Coffee Drinking and Extraversion JoyceAyers,M.A.,x Carol F. Buff, M.A.x and Donald I. Templer, Ph.D? SUMMARY.Alcoholic patients snwked significantly more cigarettes and drank more cupsof coffee than nonalcoholicps!tchiatricpatientseven when the higher extraversionscoresof the alcoholics,as measuredb!t the E!tsenckPersonalit!tInventor!I, were statisticall!tcontrolled.
A recentstudyby Walton (1) reportedthat a group of alcoholics smokedsignificantlymore cigarettesthan a groupof nonalcoholic psychiatricpatients.We conductedthe presentstudyto confirmour clinical impressionthat alcoholicsdrink more coffee than nonalcoholicpsychiatric patients,and to comparethe cigaretteand coffee consumptionof alcoholicand nonalcoholicpsychiatricpatients. Eysenck(2) has reportedthe resultsof extensiveresearchthat demonstratedthat extravertssmoke significantlymore cigarettesthan do introverts.He attributedthis to the extraverts'greater"stimulushunger" and need to counteracttheir greater cortical inhibition. Eysenck has also maintainedthat extravertshave a greater liking for coffee than introverts.Since many alcoholicsdisplay the acting-out behavior that
is characteristic of what Eysenckwould call the "extravertedneurotic," it appearedimportantto determinewhether alcoholics'greater cigarette smokingand coffee drinking could be explainedby their being more extravertedthan other psychiatricpatients. METHOD
The EysenckPersonalityInventory and a questionnairedesignedto assesspresenceand degreeof cigarettesmokingand coffee drinkingwere completed by 94 men alcoholicsand 43 heterogeneous, nonalcoholic,psychiatric men patients on admissionwards at Western State Hospital. The alcoholics were aged from 21 to 66 with a mean of 43.5 years. They had from 0 to 15 years of formal educationwith a mean of 8.9 years. The nonalcoholics had the sametypesof diagnoses as Walton'spatients:23 had been given a xWestern State Hospital, Hopkinsville,KY 42240. a Waterford Hospital and Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. Johns,Newfoundland, Canada.
Receivedfor publication:16 April 1975. Revision:19 February 1976. 983
984
JOURNALOF STUDIESON ALCOHOL
diagnosisof schizophrenia,13 of neurosis,3 of organic brain syndrome,2 of manic-depressiveillness,i adiustmentreaction,and i psychoticreaction. As an incidental part of the study, the questionnaireswere administered to 10 women alcoholicswho ranged in age h-om29 to 59 yearswith a mean of 45.2 years,and who had from 6 to 14 yearsof educationwith a mean of 9.4. I•ESULTS
The alcoholicand nonalcoholicmen had mean scoreson the Eysenck PersonalityInventory ExtraversionScale (a higher scoreindicatesgreater extraversion / of 13.06 and 11.23 (t--2.54, p • .05). Eighty-eight of the 94 alcoholicsand 36 of the 43 nonalcoholicswere cigarette smokers(chi square-- 3.59). Accordingto the Walton criterionof heavy cigarettesmokingas a pack of 20 cigarettesor more a clay,85 alcoholics and 20 nonalcoholics were heavysmokers(chi square-- 12.05,p • .001). The alcoholics and nonalcoholics
smoked a mean of 33.11 and 21.88
cigarettesper day (t----3.76, p • .001). When the extraversionscale scoreswere statisticallycontrolledby covariance,the alcoholics'greater mean number of cigarettessmokedper day was still significant(F-10.40,p • .01). The adiustedmeansof the alcoholicsand nonalcoholics (32.90 and 22.35) are quite closeto the unadiustedmeans. Ninety-oneof the 94 alcoholicsand 42 of the 43 nonalcoholicpatientsdrankcoffee(chi square-- 0.08), and they dranka meanof 6.00 and 4.02 cups of coffee daily (t--3.34, p • .001). With extraversion statisticallycontrolledby covariance,the alcoholics'greater consumption was still significant(F -- 7.29, p • .01). The adjustedmeansof the alcoholics and nonalcoholics, 5.93 and 4.18, are quite closeto the unadjusted means.
The 10 women alcoholics smc•ked a meanof 39.00cigarettes daily and they dranka meanof 10.33cupsof coffeea day. Discussion
The men alcoholics in the presentstudysmokedcigarettesand drank coffeeto a significantly greaterextentthan did the nonalcoholic psychiatricpatients;the differenceswere still significantwhen the alcoholics'significantlygreaterextraversion, as indicatedby the Eysenck scores, wasstatistically controlled. The differences wereonly significant; however,with respectto amountof smokingand coffeedrinking.The vast majority of both the alcoholicsand nonalcoholics smoked cigarettesand drankcoffee;the comparisons madeon a consumption versus nonconsumption basiswere not significant.This is in contrastto the
Walton (1) researchin which a significantly smallerproportionof alcoholicswere nonsmokers. In the Walton and presentstudies,respectively, the percentages of alcoholics who smokedcigarettes were 96.92 and 93.62; however,amongthe nonalcoholic patientsthe respective percentagesdiffer appreciably,62.00 and 83.72. Althougha group of healthy, nonhospitalized subjectswas not includedin our research,it appearsthat the alcoholics'amountof cig-
955
arette smokingexceedsthat of the generalpopulation.Accordingto a governmentreport (3) the mean number of cigarettessmokedin 1962by personsover the age of 15 was 3958 (10.84 per day), about one-thirdof that of the menalcoholics in the presentstudy.This num-
ber, basedon both malesand females,contrasts to an evengreater extentwith the meannumberof cigarettessmokedby our 10 women alcoholics.
The composite findingsof the presentresearchseemto have demonstrated ratherclearlythat alcoholics havea' higherlevelof cigarette smokingand coffeedrinkingthan nonalcoholics. However,the theoretical implicationsare not clear. The fact that, even with extraversion controlled,the alcoholicsconsumed significantlymore coffeeand to-
baccosuggests that explanations surrounding generaldifficultywith impulse controlarenotsufficient to account for suchmassive consumption. Perhapsfuture researchregarding(1) the variablesthat relate to amountof smoking and coffeedrinkingwithin alcoholic populations and (2) other populations who exhibitsimilarpatternsof cigarette smokingand coffeedrinkingwould add perspective to the present findings.
REFERENCES
1. W,•LTo•, R. G. Smokingand alcoholism;a brief report. Amer. J. Psychiat. 128: 1455-1456, 1972.
2. EYsE•cI•,H. J. Smoking,health,and personality.New York; BasicBooks;1965. 3. U.S. DE•',•TM•r OF H•,•LrH, EDVC,•r•O1• Ai•DWE•F,•m•.Smokingand health; reportof the AdvisoryCommitteeto the SurgeonGeneralof the Public Health Service.(U.S. Pub. Hlth Serv.,Publ. No. 1103.) Washington, DC; U.S. Govt Print. Off.; 1964.
Alcoholism, Cigarette Smoking, Coffee Drinking and Extraversion JoyceAyers,M.A.,x Carol F. Buff, M.A.x and Donald I. Templer, Ph.D? SUMMARY.Alcoholic patients snwked significantly more cigarettes and drank more cupsof coffee than nonalcoholicps!tchiatricpatientseven when the higher extraversionscoresof the alcoholics,as measuredb!t the E!tsenckPersonalit!tInventor!I, were statisticall!tcontrolled.
A recentstudyby Walton (1) reportedthat a group of alcoholics smokedsignificantlymore cigarettesthan a groupof nonalcoholic psychiatricpatients.We conductedthe presentstudyto confirmour clinical impressionthat alcoholicsdrink more coffee than nonalcoholicpsychiatric patients,and to comparethe cigaretteand coffee consumptionof alcoholicand nonalcoholicpsychiatricpatients. Eysenck(2) has reportedthe resultsof extensiveresearchthat demonstratedthat extravertssmoke significantlymore cigarettesthan do introverts.He attributedthis to the extraverts'greater"stimulushunger" and need to counteracttheir greater cortical inhibition. Eysenck has also maintainedthat extravertshave a greater liking for coffee than introverts.Since many alcoholicsdisplay the acting-out behavior that
is characteristic of what Eysenckwould call the "extravertedneurotic," it appearedimportantto determinewhether alcoholics'greater cigarette smokingand coffee drinking could be explainedby their being more extravertedthan other psychiatricpatients. METHOD
The EysenckPersonalityInventory and a questionnairedesignedto assesspresenceand degreeof cigarettesmokingand coffee drinkingwere completed by 94 men alcoholicsand 43 heterogeneous, nonalcoholic,psychiatric men patients on admissionwards at Western State Hospital. The alcoholics were aged from 21 to 66 with a mean of 43.5 years. They had from 0 to 15 years of formal educationwith a mean of 8.9 years. The nonalcoholics had the sametypesof diagnoses as Walton'spatients:23 had been given a xWestern State Hospital, Hopkinsville,KY 42240. a Waterford Hospital and Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. Johns,Newfoundland, Canada.
Receivedfor publication:16 April 1975. Revision:19 February 1976. 983
984
JOURNALOF STUDIESON ALCOHOL
diagnosisof schizophrenia,13 of neurosis,3 of organic brain syndrome,2 of manic-depressiveillness,i adiustmentreaction,and i psychoticreaction. As an incidental part of the study, the questionnaireswere administered to 10 women alcoholicswho ranged in age h-om29 to 59 yearswith a mean of 45.2 years,and who had from 6 to 14 yearsof educationwith a mean of 9.4. I•ESULTS
The alcoholicand nonalcoholicmen had mean scoreson the Eysenck PersonalityInventory ExtraversionScale (a higher scoreindicatesgreater extraversion / of 13.06 and 11.23 (t--2.54, p • .05). Eighty-eight of the 94 alcoholicsand 36 of the 43 nonalcoholicswere cigarette smokers(chi square-- 3.59). Accordingto the Walton criterionof heavy cigarettesmokingas a pack of 20 cigarettesor more a clay,85 alcoholics and 20 nonalcoholics were heavysmokers(chi square-- 12.05,p • .001). The alcoholics and nonalcoholics
smoked a mean of 33.11 and 21.88
cigarettesper day (t----3.76, p • .001). When the extraversionscale scoreswere statisticallycontrolledby covariance,the alcoholics'greater mean number of cigarettessmokedper day was still significant(F-10.40,p • .01). The adiustedmeansof the alcoholicsand nonalcoholics (32.90 and 22.35) are quite closeto the unadiustedmeans. Ninety-oneof the 94 alcoholicsand 42 of the 43 nonalcoholicpatientsdrankcoffee(chi square-- 0.08), and they dranka meanof 6.00 and 4.02 cups of coffee daily (t--3.34, p • .001). With extraversion statisticallycontrolledby covariance,the alcoholics'greater consumption was still significant(F -- 7.29, p • .01). The adjustedmeansof the alcoholics and nonalcoholics, 5.93 and 4.18, are quite closeto the unadjusted means.
The 10 women alcoholics smc•ked a meanof 39.00cigarettes daily and they dranka meanof 10.33cupsof coffeea day. Discussion
The men alcoholics in the presentstudysmokedcigarettesand drank coffeeto a significantly greaterextentthan did the nonalcoholic psychiatricpatients;the differenceswere still significantwhen the alcoholics'significantlygreaterextraversion, as indicatedby the Eysenck scores, wasstatistically controlled. The differences wereonly significant; however,with respectto amountof smokingand coffeedrinking.The vast majority of both the alcoholicsand nonalcoholics smoked cigarettesand drankcoffee;the comparisons madeon a consumption versus nonconsumption basiswere not significant.This is in contrastto the
Walton (1) researchin which a significantly smallerproportionof alcoholicswere nonsmokers. In the Walton and presentstudies,respectively, the percentages of alcoholics who smokedcigarettes were 96.92 and 93.62; however,amongthe nonalcoholic patientsthe respective percentagesdiffer appreciably,62.00 and 83.72. Althougha group of healthy, nonhospitalized subjectswas not includedin our research,it appearsthat the alcoholics'amountof cig-
955
arette smokingexceedsthat of the generalpopulation.Accordingto a governmentreport (3) the mean number of cigarettessmokedin 1962by personsover the age of 15 was 3958 (10.84 per day), about one-thirdof that of the menalcoholics in the presentstudy.This num-
ber, basedon both malesand females,contrasts to an evengreater extentwith the meannumberof cigarettessmokedby our 10 women alcoholics.
The composite findingsof the presentresearchseemto have demonstrated ratherclearlythat alcoholics havea' higherlevelof cigarette smokingand coffeedrinkingthan nonalcoholics. However,the theoretical implicationsare not clear. The fact that, even with extraversion controlled,the alcoholicsconsumed significantlymore coffeeand to-
baccosuggests that explanations surrounding generaldifficultywith impulse controlarenotsufficient to account for suchmassive consumption. Perhapsfuture researchregarding(1) the variablesthat relate to amountof smoking and coffeedrinkingwithin alcoholic populations and (2) other populations who exhibitsimilarpatternsof cigarette smokingand coffeedrinkingwould add perspective to the present findings.
REFERENCES
1. W,•LTo•, R. G. Smokingand alcoholism;a brief report. Amer. J. Psychiat. 128: 1455-1456, 1972.
2. EYsE•cI•,H. J. Smoking,health,and personality.New York; BasicBooks;1965. 3. U.S. DE•',•TM•r OF H•,•LrH, EDVC,•r•O1• Ai•DWE•F,•m•.Smokingand health; reportof the AdvisoryCommitteeto the SurgeonGeneralof the Public Health Service.(U.S. Pub. Hlth Serv.,Publ. No. 1103.) Washington, DC; U.S. Govt Print. Off.; 1964.
