Although personality constructs such as impulsivity often are viewed as stable, unvarying traits, recent evidence has suggested that impulsivity may change over time, particularly throughout the course of adolescence, and this change in impulsivity may also affect alcohol use. For example, a study by Littlefield, Sher, & Wood (2009) examined the relationship between changes in problematic alcohol involvement and personality (measures of impulsivity, neuroticism, and extraversion) from ages 18 to 35 in a cohort of college students at varying risk for alcohol use disorders. They captured the non-planning dimensions of impulsivity using 10 items derived from the EIQ and the TPQ. Latent growth models indicated that both normative and individual changes in alcohol involvement occurred between ages 18 and 35, and that these changes were associated with changes in neuroticism and impulsivity. Moreover, environmental factors, such as marital status and parental role status, did not explain the associated changes in alcohol involvement and personality. Findings suggest that personality change may be an important mechanism in understanding the onset and progression of alcohol use (Littlefield et al., 2009).
