Personality differences between users of wine, beer and spirits in a community sample: The Winnipeg Health and Drinking Survey

Objective: To date there are many studies describing the protective and risk factors associated with alcohol consumption and cardiovascular health (the U- or J-shaped curve). These studies have only accounted for part of the effects. One hypothesis is that personality differences may account for some of the unexplained variance. It is also unclear if wine, beer and distilled spirits have equivalent effects on health. The purpose of this study is to describe the differences in personality among users of wine, beer and spirits. Method: Data were from a community sample of 1,257 men and women in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that was first enrolled in 1989-90. We examined and compared the demographic and personality characteristics of wine, beer and spirits drinkers in this sample. Results: The groups differed significantly on the dimensions of extraversion, psychoticism and reducer-augmenter in univariate tests. In multivariate models, for the total sample and for females, predominant drinking of wine was associated with low scores on the Vando scale (augmenters). Higher consumption of beer among males was associated with higher levels of neuroticism. Conclusions: In these instances, personality does contribute to the characterization of groups.