Personality and coping style as influences on alcohol intake and cigarette smoking during pregnancy

To determine if personality and coping style are central determinants of drinking and smoking at risk to fetal health during pregnancy.

A sample of 99 women recently confined at a Sydney obstetric hospital received a semi-structured interview and completed a number of questionnaires.

Alcohol and cigarette consumption over designated intervals since conception were assessed by interview. Questionnaires assessed maternal anxiety and postnatal depression, as well as coping strategies and personality characteristics such as impulsiveness.

After confirmation of pregnancy, two-thirds of those previously drinking ceased while only one-third of those who had been smokers then abstained, with intake levels showing a similar pattern of a relatively greater decrease in alcohol than cigarette consumption over the course of the pregnancy. Personality and coping style differences were not demonstrated between the following contrasting groups: (a) smokers v. non-smokers prior to confirmation of pregnancy; (b) on-going drinkers v. relative abstainers during pregnancy; and (c) excessive smokers and drinkers before pregnancy v. all other subjects. Comparison of drinkers and non-drinkers before pregnancy suggested less "mature" coping styles for the latter, an unexpected finding.

There was little support for the hypothesis that drinking and smoking at risk to health (before and during pregnancy) are determined by the individual's personality and general coping repertoires.