Hostility has been related to coronary heart condition mortality. To assess possible mechanisms linking hostility to coronary heart condition risk, the authors conducted analyses during a cross-sectional study from data collected in 1985 and 1986 on 5,115 young adults, aged 18–30 years, black and white, male and feminine , in four large urban areas of the us . The results show that higher levels of hostility as determined by the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale were strongly associated wtth tobacco and marijuana smoking, increased alcohol consumption, and greater caloric intake in both blacks and whites and in both men and ladies . The increased caloric consumption was evident within the higher waist/hip ratios, particularly in men (p < 0.05). The associations were particularly strong (p < 0.001) for tobacco cigarette smoking and marijuana smoking, with roughly a 1.5 times higher prevalence within the top hostility quartile compared with rock bottom quartile after adjusting for age and education.