Notably, changes in extraversion were not significantly linked to changes in problematic alcohol involvement. This is not entirely surprising, given the equivocal findings concerning the relation between extraversion and alcohol outcomes (see Sher et al., 2005). However, the initial level of extraversion was significantly linked to problematic alcohol involvement, indicating that those individuals who were higher in initial levels of extraversion were also higher in initial levels of problematic alcohol involvement. Recent work from this lab (Park, Sher, Wood, & Krull, 2009) has indicated that extraversion is associated with affiliation with Greek organizations, suggesting that extraversion plays a developmentally specific role in selection of drinking-relevant environments. That is, unlike the associations with impulsivity and neuroticism, the extraversion association may be attributable to age-specific, environmental effects. Taken together, these findings support the notion suggested by Sher et al. (2005) that extraverted individuals may be initially prone to heavy alcohol use but that the relation between being social and alcohol use declines as problematic outcomes from drinking increase.
