The Impact of Personality on the Physical Activity and Alcohol Use Relationship

Abstract

Studies have shown positive associations between levels of physical activity and alcohol use at both between-persons and within-person levels. This relationship has been of interest to researchers developing physical activity-based treatments for alcohol use disorders, which have had mixed results, one reason perhaps being because they have not controlled for individual differences. The current study investigated whether differences in Five-Factor Model personality traits moderated the physical activity-alcohol use relationship in an undergraduate sample (N = 263). Results showed lifestyle physical activity, extraversion, and neuroticism were each predictive of alcohol use, but there were no interaction effects among these variables, indicating that personality traits do not impact the strength of this relationship. Therefore, individuals high in traits of extraversion or neuroticism are not specifically at risk for increased alcohol use when participating in physical activity. If exercise-based interventions for alcohol use disorders are implemented, individuals high in extraversion and neuroticism continue to possess independent risk factors for alcohol use.