Does your eye color tell others how likely you are to be an alcoholic?

The present study used data from two archival samples to test the hypothesis, derived from Worthy, M. (1999), Eye colour: a key to human and animal behaviour. Lincoln, Nebraska: to Exel (originally published 1974) that light-eyed individuals would be more likely than dark-eyed individuals to abuse alcohol. Sample 1 consisted of 10,860 Caucasian male prison inmates, and Sample 2 consisted of 1862 Caucasian women respondents in a national survey. In both samples, individuals with light eyes had consumed significantly more alcohol than individuals with dark eyes. These results are consistent with previous findings that dark-eyed people exhibit more physiological arousal and more sensitivity to some medications than light-eyed people. The results may indicate that greater sensitivity to alcohol in dark-eyed individuals prevents them from drinking the large quantities of alcohol needed for development of physical dependence. Alternatively, greater behavioral inhibition may motivate light-eyed individuals to engage in alcohol consumption to achieve harm avoidance.

Source: “Eye color predicts alcohol use in two archival samples” from Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 31, Issue 4, 5 September 2001, Pages 535-539