Abstract

Abstract Personality (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, short-form Sensation Seeking) and lifestyle variables were investigated in 360 medical and nonmedical students. Comparative personality data were also available on a further 141 medical students from previous years. Results were analysed from the perspective of medicalhon-medical student differences and in terms of relationships between the variables. Medical students appeared as more “cautious/conventional/tender-minded” individuals, having significantly lower Psychoticism (P) and Sensation Seeking (SS) scores, and consuming less tea and coffee, tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and other drugs. Medical students took more physical exercise, had stronger religious beliefs, yet consumed slightly more proprietary medicines, although there was no evidence for significantly elevated tranquillizer usage. A factor and analytic description of the data was compatible with the hypothesis that elevated P and SS scores monitored pre-disposition to alcohol, tobacco and drugs use. Tranquillizer use, proprietary medicine use and caffeine intake inter-correlated with neuroticism (N). Physical exercise and choice of peer group were possible moderating variables.