This article is a literature review of the psychological aspects of smoking behavior, highlighting personality characteristics of the smoker as an obstacle to smoking cessation. It describes the relation between smoking behavior and personality, and between smoking and the principal psychiatric disorders. Studies reveal that smokers tend to be more extroverted, anxious, tense, and impulsive, and show more traits of neuroticism and psychoticism than do ex-smokers or nonsmokers. The literature also reveals a strong association between smoking and mental disorders, such as schizophrenia and depression. Understanding the psychological factors associated with tobacco smoking and dependence can further the development and improvement of therapeutic strategies to be used in smoking-cessation programs, as well as of programs aimed at prevention and education.

Keywords: Personality; Mental disorders; Smoking.

Introduction: Data on the relationship between personality profile and nicotine addiction may help health professionals in the design and improvement of programs for the treatment and prevention of addiction. Objective: To investigate the relationship between the personality profile and nicotine addiction in a group of smoking undergraduate students. Methods: A total of 1,245 undergraduate students were randomly selected among 10,500 students enrolled at the UFMT - Cuiabá campus in 2001. A standard questionnaire was applied for social characterization and to determine the pattern of cigarette consumption, with 80 students being considered smokers. These students were then submitted to the Fagerström Test (1978) of nicotine addiction and to the reduced version of the Comrey Personality Scale (CPS) which determines personality dimensions. Results: Analysis of the mean scores (Student t-test) revealed a marginal or inversely proportional borderline association between addiction and the Order x Lack of Compulsion scale (p = 0.06), and a negative or inversely proportional association between the CPS Extroversion x Introversion (p = 0.002) and Control of Validity scales (p = 0.04). Linear regression of the Fagerström Test points confirmed the inversely proportional borderline association between addiction and the Order x Lack of Compulsion (p = 0.06) and CPS Extroversion x Introversion scales (p = 0.02). However, controlling for interference of daily cigarette consumption, only the Extroversion x Introversion scale remained associated with addiction (p = 0.001). Conclusions: Smoker and nicotine dependent students are less extrovert than non-dependent smokers.