Article Version of Record

Do Humorous People Take Poorer Care of Their Health? Associations Between Humor Styles and Substance Use

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Edwards, Kim R.
Martin, Rod A.

Abstract / Description

A sense of humor is widely viewed as beneficial for physical health. However, some limited research suggests that humor may actually be related to increased smoking and alcohol consumption because humorous individuals may take a less serious attitude toward substance use. The purpose of the present study was to explore this hypothesis in greater detail in a sample of 215 undergraduate students. Individual differences in humor were measured using the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ), and playfulness (i.e., low seriousness) was assessed using the trait version of the State-Trait Cheerfulness Inventory (STCI-T). Participants also completed a questionnaire about their substance use (smoking, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine). As predicted, affiliative humor, aggressive humor, and playfulness were significant predictors of greater substance use. Mediation analyses confirmed that the link between both affiliative and aggressive humor and substance use was mediated by seriousness, indicating that this association is due, at least in part, to high-humor individuals taking a less serious, more playful outlook on life. Overall, these results support the view that a sense of humor may be related to less healthy habits, at least in the domain of substance use.

Keyword(s)

substance use humor styles playfulness seriousness

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2012-11-30

Journal title

Europe's Journal of Psychology

Volume

8

Issue

4

Page numbers

523–534

Publisher

PsychOpen GOLD

Publication status

publishedVersion

Review status

peerReviewed

Is version of

Citation

Edwards, K. R., & Martin, R. A. (2012). Do Humorous People Take Poorer Care of Their Health? Associations Between Humor Styles and Substance Use. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 8(4), 523–534. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v8i4.461
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Edwards, Kim R.
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Martin, Rod A.
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2018-11-21T10:00:44Z
  • Made available on
    2018-11-21T10:00:44Z
  • Date of first publication
    2012-11-30
  • Abstract / Description
    A sense of humor is widely viewed as beneficial for physical health. However, some limited research suggests that humor may actually be related to increased smoking and alcohol consumption because humorous individuals may take a less serious attitude toward substance use. The purpose of the present study was to explore this hypothesis in greater detail in a sample of 215 undergraduate students. Individual differences in humor were measured using the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ), and playfulness (i.e., low seriousness) was assessed using the trait version of the State-Trait Cheerfulness Inventory (STCI-T). Participants also completed a questionnaire about their substance use (smoking, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine). As predicted, affiliative humor, aggressive humor, and playfulness were significant predictors of greater substance use. Mediation analyses confirmed that the link between both affiliative and aggressive humor and substance use was mediated by seriousness, indicating that this association is due, at least in part, to high-humor individuals taking a less serious, more playful outlook on life. Overall, these results support the view that a sense of humor may be related to less healthy habits, at least in the domain of substance use.
    en_US
  • Publication status
    publishedVersion
  • Review status
    peerReviewed
  • Citation
    Edwards, K. R., & Martin, R. A. (2012). Do Humorous People Take Poorer Care of Their Health? Associations Between Humor Styles and Substance Use. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 8(4), 523–534. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v8i4.461
  • ISSN
    1841-0413
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1155
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1347
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Publisher
    PsychOpen GOLD
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v8i4.461
  • Keyword(s)
    substance use
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    humor styles
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    playfulness
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    seriousness
    en_US
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    Do Humorous People Take Poorer Care of Their Health? Associations Between Humor Styles and Substance Use
    en_US
  • DRO type
    article
  • Issue
    4
  • Journal title
    Europe's Journal of Psychology
  • Page numbers
    523–534
  • Volume
    8
  • Visible tag(s)
    Version of Record