INITIATION AND MAINTENANCE OF TOBACCO SMOKING - CHANGING PERSONALITY-CORRELATES IN ADOLESCENCE AND YOUNG ADULTHOOD

Youthful smokers have been described as extroverted and peer-involved, whereas older smokers are often characterized as depressed and withdr awn. Recognizing this contradiction, we examined cross-sectional and p rospective associations between smoking and personality and social con structs assessed every 4 years in a sample (N = 461) originally recrui ted in junior high school. At Time 1, smoking- was positively related to good social relations, extroversion, friends' cigarette use, and ch eerfulness. At Times 2-4, smoking was positively related to depression and friends' cigarette use, negatively correlated with good Social Re lations, and unrelated to extroversion. Cigarette use was stable over time, but least stable between Times 1 and 2. Findings suggest the ins tability of early social smoking with peers; those who persist may smo ke for tension reduction and self-medication.