Antecedents of Smoking Cessation among Adolescents: Who Is Motivated to Change?

doi:10.1006/pmed.1998.0304

Preventive Medicine

Volume 27, Issue 3, May 1998, Pages 348-357

https://doi.org/10.1006/pmed.1998.0304 Get rights and content

Abstract

Background. In recent years many longitudinal studies have examined the predictors of smoking acquisition. However, only a few studies have focused on the precursors of smoking cessation. The current study is one of the first concentrating on longitudinal predictors of young people's smoking cessation.

Methods. Subjects were 215 smokers ages 14–15 years who were reinterviewed 3 years later. These smokers were allocated to four groups based on their motivation to quit and actual quitting behavior at the last wave. Independent variables were smoking-specific cognitions, social influences, and aspects of smoking habits.

Results. Univariate comparisons between the four groups showed that those with a positive attitude toward smoking and lower self-efficacy were less likely to be motivated to quit 3 years later. No long-term effects of environmental influences were found. Aspects of smoking habits, such as intensity and frequency of smoking, and the context of cigarette use affected the motivation to quit. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine differences in predictors between the groups in more detail. These analyses revealed that differences mainly in attitudes and self-efficacy affected whether subjects were absolutely not motivated to quit or had actually quit 3 years later. Differences in smoking behavior affected the allocation to the more closely related groups (e.g., preparing versus quitting).

Conclusions. Adolescents' motivation to quit is affected by smoking-related cognitions and habitual factors. More research is needed to decide whether the relation between intensity and frequency of smoking and the likelihood to quit later on should be interpreted in terms of differences in smoking initiation or in terms of preparation to quit.

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The nicotine and placebo patch conditions were compared with respect to demographic and smoking-related variables that in previous studies were found to be significant predictors of smoking cessation among adolescents, by using analysis of variance for continuous variables and Cramer's V, and Phi correlations for categorical variables. These variables include age, gender, educational level, age of onset of daily smoking, friends' smoking behavior, self-efficacy, motivation, alcohol consumption, and marijuana use, as measured in the pre-treatment questionnaire (Breslau & Peterson, 1996; Ellickson, Tucker, & Klein, 2001; Engels, Knibbe, de Vries, & Drop, 1998; Lim et al., 2012; Otten, Bricker, Liu, Comstock, & Peterson, 2011; Paavola, Vartiainen, & Puska, 2001). Only gender was found to be associated with treatment group assignment (Table 1).
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^☆: This research was supported by a grant from the Dutch Cancer Society.

^☆☆: Slama, K

²: To whom reprint requests should be addressed. Fax: 31(0)43 3671048. E-mail:[email protected].

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Regular ArticleAntecedents of Smoking Cessation among Adolescents: Who Is Motivated to Change?☆,☆☆

Abstract

Addict Behav

J Subst Abuse

Prev Med

Organ Behav Hum Dec Proc

Am J Prev Med

Addict Behav

Addict Behav

J Appl Dev Psychol

Addict Behav

Addict Behav

Addict Behav

Addict Behav

Psychosocial approaches to smoking prevention: a review of findings

Health Psychol

Smoking prevention program for children: a review

J Drug Educ

Smoking in adolescence: methods for health education and smoking cessation

J Fam Pract

Smoking cessation help for young people: the process observed in two case studies

Health Educ Res

Patterns of self-initiated smoking cessation among young adults

Health Psychol

The smoking problem: a review of the research and theory of behavioral risk modification

Psychol Bull

Stage theory and research on tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use

J Drug Educ

Addiction versus stages of change models in predicting smoking cessation

Addiction

Translating a desire to stop smoking into decision and action

Stages and processes of self-change of smoking: toward an integrative model of change

J Consult Clin Psychol

In search of how people change: applications to addictive behaviors

Am Psychol

The process of smoking cessation: precontemplation, contemplation and preparation stages of change

J Consult Clin Psychol

Prospective predictors of quit attempts and smoking cessation in young adults

Health Psychol

A longitudinal analysis of unaided smoking cessation

J Consult Clin Psychol

Public Health Rep

Regular Article
Antecedents of Smoking Cessation among Adolescents: Who Is Motivated to Change?☆,☆☆