Eating, Drinking, and Smoking and Their Relationship in Adult Women

Abstract

The eating, drinking, and smoking habits of 766 women aged 20 to 30 yr. were studied. The behaviors were seen as currently prevalent representatives of the set of indulgent behaviors and so were of interest as a group. The total pool of volunteer subjects yielded two quasirepresentative samples of 265 subjects each which matched each other and census data across a range of demographic variables and were used to crosscheck all results. A subsample of 64 subjects provided retest data at an interval of 3 mo. between testings. Measures for the study included indicators of status in the drinking and smoking domains, and measures of level in each domain. All measures had generally acceptable psychometric properties. Within the study samples, and using the measures as developed, the behaviors were empirically independent apart from a moderate link from status in the smoking domain to drinking behavior. The predominant finding of empirical independence was explored in terms of the different frequency bases of the three behaviors, the different subjective priorities associated with them, and the possibility of opposing combinatorial and substitutory pressures.