"Debunking myths about self-quitting: Evidence from 10 prospective studies of persons who attempt to quit smoking by themselves": Reply.

Replies to the comments of S. Cohen et al (see record 1990-05833-001) concerning S. Schachter's (see record 1982-30809-001) study on smoking cessation. Schachter agrees that Cohen's data are evidence that self-selected, hard-core smokers are indeed hard-core smokers, but questions what this has to do with self-quitting over time in the general population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in self-efficacy resulting from unaided attempts to quit smoking.

Investigated changes in smoking self-efficacy as a result of successful and unsuccessful quit attempts. The sample consisted of 182 smokers (aged 19–70 yrs) who planned to quit smoking without professional assistance. Prior to a self-selected quit date, smoking self-efficacy was assessed. Quit status was determined 1, 6, and 12 mo after the quit date. Self-efficacy was reassessed at the 12-mo follow-up. At 12 mo the sample consisted of 44 quitters, 24 continuous smokers, 102 relapsers, and 12 Ss whose smoking status was uncertain. Self-reports of cessation were corroborated by collateral report and confirmed by saliva cotinine analysis. As predicted, quitters increased their self-efficacy, and continuous smokers decreased their self-efficacy from the prequit baseline to the 12-mo follow-up. Relapsers' self-efficacy also dropped significantly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Craving is associated with smoking relapse: Findings from three prospective studies.

In a combined sample of more than 2,600 smokers, immediate postcessation craving is shown to be prospectively associated with smokers' ability to maintain abstinence. Relapse is strikingly rapid among those reporting high levels of craving following cessation. More than 32% of those with high craving scores relapsed within I week of cessation. In contrast, fewer than 15% of those with low craving scores relapsed in the first week (p     

Stages of readiness to quit smoking: Population prevalence and correlates.

Examined the population prevalence and correlates of stages in smokers' readiness to quit, using data from 1,048 smokers recruited in a self-weighting, multistage, systematic clustered area sample. Smokers in the precontemplation stage (PCTS) comprised 24.1% of the sample, smokers in the contemplation stage (CTS) comprised 47.2%, and smokers in the preparation stage (PS) comprised 28.7%. The 5 significant independent predictors of being in the PCTS (vs the CTS) were (1) having a higher confidence of quitting, (2) seeing fewer health risks associated with smoking, (3) not having made an attempt to quit, (4) seeing quitting as more difficult, and (5) smoking 25 or more cigarettes a day. The 2 significant independent predictors of being in the CTS (vs the PS) were (1) having lower confidence of quitting and (2) not having tried to quit. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of smoking self-identity and quitting self-identity on attempts to quit smoking.

Objective: To examine the effect of two types of self-identity on attempts to quit smoking: self-identity in terms of smoking and self-identity in terms of quitting. Design: A prospective survey among an initial sample of 3,411 smokers. Smoking history variables and psychosocial variables from the theory of planned behavior are also measured. Main Outcome Measures: Intention to quit smoking and smoking cessation attempts 4 months later. Results: Both smoking identity and quitting identity matter, but they appear to play different roles in explaining intention to quit and in predicting actual attempts to quit. Quitting identity is particularly important for intention to quit, whereas both quitting identity and smoking identity are important for actually trying to quit. Recent attempts to quit slightly attenuate the negative effect of smoking identity on attempts to quit. Conclusion: A broader interpretation of self-identity in terms of both current and aspired behavior offers a better understanding of when people might change health-relevant behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rebound following failure to quit smoking: The effects of attributions and self-efficacy.

In this study the authors examined the process of rebound from failure, operationalized as a deliberate quit attempt within 6 months of failure in which the participant achieved at least 24 hr of abstinence, in a group of 63 smokers who failed to quit smoking. Guided, in part, by G. A. Marlatt and J. R. Gordon's (1985) abstinence violation effect model, the authors evaluated participants' reactions to failure by assessing causal attributions and self-efficacy immediately after the end of the failed quit effort and used these to predict rebound 3 and 6 months later in correlational and logistic regression analyses. Results showed that participants who rebounded attributed their prior failure to more unstable causes and had higher levels of self-efficacy following failure. Participants who rebounded also reported significantly more helpful attributional influences on their initial cessation effort. Logistic regression analyses indicated that more unstable reasons for failure to quit and helpful attributions moderately predict subsequent rebound. These effects are not mediated by self-efficacy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The politics of clinical judgment: What nonliberal examiners infer about women who do not stifle themselves.

Gave 71 professional counselors bogus clinical protocols varying only in the student testee's sex and political inclination. The Ss, led to believe that they were participating in a survey aimed at generating normative data, were asked to infer the psychological status of the testee. The less liberal (but not the more liberal) Ss attributed significantly greater psychological maladjustment to the left politically active female client than to her male counterpart. The finding supports the position of T. Szasz and others that conventional ideologies are strengthened by certain moral-political consequences of mental health practice, and underscores the potential contribution of an empirical social psychology of clinical practice. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recidivism and self-cure of smoking and obesity: An attempt to replicate.

Conducted a partial replication of S. Schachter's (see record 1982-30809-001) findings on obesity and smoking, particularly that smoking and being overweight may be self-cured in many individuals. Interviews were conducted with 92 22–80 yr old faculty members, graduate students, and support staff of a university psychology department. Results generally support Schachter's data. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivating Latino caregivers of children with asthma to quit smoking: A randomized trial.

Objective: Secondhand smoke exposure is associated with asthma onset and exacerbation. Latino children have higher rates of asthma morbidity than other groups. The current study compared the effectiveness of a newly developed smoking cessation treatment with existing clinical guidelines for smoking cessation. Method: Latino caregivers who smoked (N = 133; 72.9% female; mean age = 36.8 years) and had a child with asthma were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 2 smoking cessation counseling interventions during a home-based asthma program: (a) behavioral action model (BAM; modeled on clinical guidelines for smoking cessation) or (b) precaution adoption model (PAM; feedback on the caregiver’s carbon monoxide level and child’s secondhand smoke exposure using Motivational Interviewing). Counseling was delivered by a bilingual Latina health educator, and the content was tailored to Latino values and culture. It was not necessary for smokers to want to quit smoking to participate. Smoking cessation was biochemically verified and secondhand smoke exposure was objectively measured through passive nicotine monitors. Results: Intent-to-treat analyses showed that 20.5% of participants in the PAM condition and 9.1% of those in the BAM condition were continuously abstinent at 2 months posttreatment (OR = 2.54; 95% CI = 0.91–7.10), whereas 19.1% of participants in the PAM condition and 12.3% of those in BAM condition were continuously abstinent at 3 months posttreatment (OR = 1.68; 95% CI = 0.64–4.37). Secondhand smoke exposure decreased only in the BAM condition (p p     

Implicit and explicit attitudes predict smoking cessation: Moderating effects of experienced failure to control smoking and plans to quit.

The current study tested implicit and explicit attitudes as prospective predictors of smoking cessation in a Midwestern community sample of smokers. Results showed that the effects of attitudes significantly varied with levels of experienced failure to control smoking and plans to quit. Explicit attitudes significantly predicted later cessation among those with low (but not high or average) levels of experienced failure to control smoking. Conversely, however, implicit attitudes significantly predicted later cessation among those with high levels of experienced failure to control smoking, but only if they had a plan to quit. Because smoking cessation involves both controlled and automatic processes, interventions may need to consider attitude change interventions that focus on both implicit and explicit attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does disclosure of emotions facilitate recovery from bereavement? Evidence from two prospective studies.

Two longitudinal studies assessed whether disclosure of emotions facilitates recovery from bereavement. Study 1 tested prospectively over a 2-year period whether the extent to which bereaved persons talked about their loss to others and disclosed their emotions was associated with better adjustment to the loss of a marital partner. There was no evidence that disclosure facilitated adjustment. Study 2 randomly assigned recently bereaved individuals either to the Pennebaker writing task (J. W. Pennebaker & S. K. Beall, 1986) or to no-essay control conditions. The writing task did not result in a reduction of distress or of doctors visits either immediately after the bereavement or at a 6-month follow-up. Beneficial effects were not demonstrated for bereaved persons who had suffered an unexpected loss or who at the time of the study still expressed a high need for emotional disclosure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A fine-grained analysis of the role of self-efficacy in self-initiated attempts to quit smoking.

The relation between self-efficacy ratings and smoking behavior was explored among 36 people who were trying to quit smoking on their own. Ss self-monitored high-risk situations, coping efforts to withstand the temptation to smoke, and self-efficacy in coping with similar temptations for 4 weeks after quitting. Self-efficacy ratings were significantly related to the outcome of these situations, with Ss reporting higher efficacy ratings after situations in which they did not smoke as opposed to those in which they did smoke. Self-efficacy was predictive of smoking outcome, but there was considerable intersubject variability in the strength of the relation between efficacy and smoking behavior. Both efficacy and previous smoking behavior predicted smoking outcome equally well, however. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Challenging conventional wisdom about who quits: Revelations from corporate America.

Findings from 20 corporations from the Attrition and Retention Consortium, which collects quit statistics about 475,458 professionals and managers, extended and disputed established findings about who quits. Multilevel analyses revealed that company tenure is curvilinearly related to turnover and that a job's past attrition rate strengthens the (negative) performance- exit relationship. Further, women quit more than men, while African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans quit more than White Americans, though racial differences disappeared after confounds were controlled for. African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American women quit more than men of the same ethnicities and White Americans, but statistical controls nullified evidence for dual discrimination toward minority women. Greater corporate flight among women and minorities during early employment nonetheless hampers progress toward a more diversified workforce in corporate America. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recidivism and self-cure of smoking and obesity: Data from population studies.

Questions the accuracy of S. Schachter's (see record 1982-30809-001) retrospective interview method for estimating rates of smoking and obesity. Schachter appears to overestimate the success of self-treatment when his data are compared with data from larger and more general population bases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental smoking cessation and child daily smoking: A 9-year longitudinal study of mediation by child cognitions about smoking.

Objective: This study investigated to what extent the prospective relationship between parental smoking cessation and child daily smoking is mediated by child cognitions about smoking. Design: The study drew its sample from the 40 Washington State school districts involved in the Hutchinson Smoking Prevention Project. The predictor variable of parental smoking cessation was measured during third grade. The mediator measures, consistent with the Theory of Planned Behavior and Social Cognitive Theory, were measured during ninth grade, and the smoking status outcome was measured during twelfth grade. Main Outcome Measures: Smoking status at twelfth grade. Results: Negative general attitudes toward smoking, attitude that cigarette smoke is bothersome, and tobacco refusal self-efficacy together significantly mediated 49% of the prospective relationship between parental smoking cessation and child daily smoking. Conclusion: Parental smoking cessation before children reach third grade may lead children to develop more negative cognitions about smoking, and, in turn, reduce their risk of smoking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Similarity in cigarette smoking attracts: A prospective study of romantic partner selection by own smoking and smoker prototypes.

In the current research, we used a multiwave longitudinal design to examine how young adults’ own smoking and smoker prototypes are associated with selection of romantic partners over time. Results indicate that participants who smoke, versus participants who do not smoke, and participants who have a more positive prototype of the typical smoker are more likely to initiate a romantic relationship with someone who smokes and who has greater perceived approval for smoking. Among participants who smoke, higher levels of smoking are associated with initiating a relationship with a romantic partner who smokes more and approves of smoking more. The findings suggest some important aspects of romantic partner selection effects in terms of what is selected for, partner smoking and approval, and key young adult variables that contribute to selection, such as participant’s own smoking and smoker prototype. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supported work: An innovative approach to the vocational rehabilitation of persons who are psychiatrically disabled.

Presents a model for the vocational rehabilitation of persons with severe psychiatric disability (SPD) that helps clients find private-sector jobs and provides support to both client and employer. Preliminary data on a supported work program in which 152 Ss with SPD participated suggest that the model is effective in returning individuals with SPD to competitive employment. Close monitoring of a subset of 34 Ss during the 1st yr of the program revealed that Ss whose disabilities were identified in adolescence (age 19 yrs or younger) were almost twice as likely to be employed as those with an adult onset. Clinical stability and level of motivation also appeared to affect program outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of monetary reinforcement to reduce the cigarette smoking of persons with schizophrenia: A feasibility study.

The feasibility of using monetary reinforcement to promote abstinence from substance use in adult individuals with schizophrenia was addressed. Cigarette smoking was studied as an exemplar of drug use in 11 individuals with schizophrenia by use of a within-subject experimental design. The study duration was 3 weeks, with weeks 1 and 3 serving as baseline conditions and week 2 serving as the intervention condition; in the latter, patients could earn money by abstaining from cigarette smoking. Abstinence was significantly greater during the intervention condition than during the baseline conditions. These results illustrate the potential sensitivity of drug use in this population to reinforcement contingencies, suggesting that contingency-management interventions are a feasible option for treating the substance abuse of individuals with schizophrenia (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acute impact of the September 11 tragedy on smoking and early relapse rates among smokers attempting to quit.

The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States had widespread behavioral and emotional impacts. At the time of the terrorist attacks, 462 smokers from the Washington, DC, area had been entered into a study comparing scheduled versus ad lib dosing regimens for nicotine inhalers. Mean smoking rates the week following September 11 were only slightly higher than mean smoking rates the week prior to September 11. Increases in smoking rates following the terrorist attacks, however, were significantly associated with scores on the Impact of Events Scale-Revised (Pearson's r = .25, p = .01). Although the terrorist attacks were associated with acute increases in smoking and early relapse rates, the effect was relatively small and modestly associated with retrospective reports of the event's emotional impact. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Perceived Stress Model of Caregiver Burden: Evidence from spouses of persons with brain injuries.

Investigated the efficacy of the Perceived Stress Model of Caregiver Burden (PSB) with 135 spouse caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injuries. A theoretical model was tested against an atheoretical model containing relationships among variables previously reported in burden literature. Ss completed the Brief Symptom Inventory, SCL-90 (Revised), Perceived Stress Scale, and the Ways of Coping Checklist. The initial theoretical model was not an adequate fit to the data. The atheoretical model did not fit the data by chi-square criteria and contained a number of relationships that were not significant. The PSB, derived by combining the empirical findings with the theoretical model, fit these data as well as the atheoretical model, and showed a more parsimonious representation of the relationships among the variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)