PERSONALITY-DIFFERENCES PREDICT HEALTH-RISK BEHAVIORS IN YOUNG ADULTHOOD - EVIDENCE FROM A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY

In a longitudinal study of a birth cohort, the authors identified yout h involved in each of 4 different health-risk behaviors at age 21: alc ohol dependence, violent crime, unsafe sex, and dangerous driving habi ts. At age 18, the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) wa s used to assess 10 distinct personality traits. At age 3, observation al measures were used to classify children into distinct temperament g roups. Results showed that a similar constellation of adolescent perso nality traits, with developmental origins in childhood, is linked to d ifferent health-risk behaviors at 21. Associations between the same pe rsonality traits and different health-risk behaviors were not an artif act of the same people engaging in different health-risk behaviors; ra ther, these associations implicated the same personality type in diffe rent but related behaviors. In planning campaigns, health professional s may need to design programs that appeal to the unique psychological makeup of persons most at risk for health-risk behaviors.