Johnson, J.K.1, Viken, R.J.1, & Rose, R.J.1
Previous studies of singletons have shown that certain personality traits, such as sensation seeking, are associated with alcohol consumption. Such associations are usually interpreted as evidence that the personality traits are individual risk factors for alcohol consumption or abuse. But singleton studies cannot rule out the possibility that such associations are due to between familial factors rather than a functional relationship between personality and alcohol use. We investigated the relationship between Sensation Seeking Scale scores (M. Zuckerman, 1979, Sensation Seeking: Beyond the Optimal Level of Arousal, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ) and alcohol consumption in a sample of 1,700 adults, replicating the same associations in individuals between families and in sibling pairs within families. Individuals above the 70th percentile for sex-specific sensation seeking score distributions reported higher quantity, frequency, and density of drinking, as well as more alcohol problems than those scoring below the 30th percentile on sensation seeking. We then attempted to replicate this finding within sibships, providing a more powerful test of the association between these variables. Within the sample were 750 full-sib pairs, from which pairs of discordant sibs (one sib above the 70th percentile and the other below the 30th on sensation seeking scores) were then selected. The resulting sample of discordant pairs consisted of 46 full-sib pairs. Paired t-tests showed that the differences in reported alcohol behaviors between high and low sensation seekers persists in within family comparisons. High sensation seekers reported significantly higher quantity, frequency, and density of alcohol consumption than those with low sensation seeking scores. The finding that the within family association between sensation seeking and alcohol use replicates the association observed in singletons argues against shared familial factors as a full explanation for the association.
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1Department of Psychology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405. 2 Supported by NIAAA: AA-07611 and AA-00145.