A Short MMPI Scale to Identify People Likely to Begin Smoking

An item analysis of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was conducted to develop questionnaires that best discriminated (a) individuals who ever smoked versus those who never smoked and (b) ex-smokers from current smokers. The analyses were based on a sample of subjects who took the MMPI during 1964-1967 and reported their smoking status during 1987 Although no items distinguished individuals who quit versus continued to smoke, several items discriminated people who ever smoked from nonsmokers. These items formed two factors: Extroversion and Unconventionalism. These results provide support for the importance of extroversion, impulsivity, and antisocial tendencies as personality predictors of smoking initiation. The utility of this MMPI scale is discussed.