Teenage smoking, attempts to quit, and school performance

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the relationship between school performance, smoking, and quitting attempts among teenagers. METHODS: A logistic regression model was used to predict the probability of being a current smoker or a former smoker. Data were derived from the 1990 California Youth Tobacco Survey. RESULTS: Students' school performance was a key factor in predicting smoking and quitting attempts when other sociodemographic and family income factors were controlled. CONCLUSIONS: Developing academic or remedial classes designed to improve students' school performance may lead to a reduction in smoking rates among teenagers while simultaneously providing a human capital investment in their futures.     

Prospective predictors of quit attempts and smoking cessation in young adults.

This study examined prospective predictors of attempts to quit smoking and successful quitting among those who attempted to quit (n?=?700), using a long-term longitudinal study of the natural history of cigarette smoking in a midwestern community sample. Participants, originally surveyed in 6th-12th grade (1980–1983), were followed up in 1987 and 1994. Results showed that amount of smoking, gender, education, health beliefs about smoking, value on healthy lifestyle, motives for smoking, reasons for quitting, and occupancy of young adult social roles were significant predictors of cessation. However, there were different predictors of attempts to quit and successful quitting among those who attempted to quit. From a public health perspective, both predictors of quit attempts and predictors of successful quitting among attempters are useful targets for intervention. (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)     

Smokers' narrative accounts of quit attempts: Aids and impediments to success.

In this study, the authors used cigarette smokers' narratives describing their quit attempts to understand factors related to the change process. Maintained quitters (MQs, n = 59) and temporary quitters (TQs, n = 47) wrote autobiographical narratives describing their most serious (TQs) or last (MQs) quit attempt. Two types of content analysis were used to analyze the reports: (a) dichotomous ratings of the presence or absence of an event and (b) computerized content analysis of event or word frequency. The valence (anti- or pro-smoking cessation) of change factors was also examined. MQs wrote significantly more affective statements than did TQs. When valence was examined, MQs made significantly more pro-smoking cessation social support, cognitive, and affective statements than TQs did, and TQs made significantly more anti-smoking cessation social support and affective statements than MQs did. (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)     

Smoking cessation: a four-step plan to help older patients quit

Smokers aged 50 years and older are a vulnerable group of patients, who are likely to have ailments that are complicated by smoking. They can derive significant health benefits from quitting, even though they probably have smoked for many years and are highly addicted. With older patients making multiple office visits each year, doctors can play a pivotal role in helping older smokers to quit. By following a four-step approach--ask about smoking, advise to quit, assist the patient in developing a quitting plan, and arrange for follow-up--physicians can significantly improve the health of their older patients who smoke.     

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)     

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)     

Never fear, never quit

Courage and perseverance are the primary determinants of professional success and personal happiness. This article describes 10 core principles that show how to make the Never Fear, Never Quit philosophy part of your life and work.     

Smoking prevalence in the urban locality of southeastern Brazil

A cross-sectional study for prevalence of arterial hypertension in the population aged 15-74 years of age of the urban area of Araraquara County, 250 km from the city of S. Paulo, S. Paulo, State, Brazil, in 1987, was performed. The questionnaires presented to 1,199 people (533 men and 666 women) at the interview consisted of regarding sociodemographic variables, as well as the use of tobacco (smoking), the ways in which tobacco was used and the habit of inhaling the smoke. The sample was taken by the procedure of clustering, carried out in three stages. The sample was equiprobabilistic. The prevalence of tobacco smoking was very high being of 45.2% for men and 22.8% for women. The ex-smokers accounted for 15.9% of men and 8.0% of women. The men smoked much more than the women. The poorer smoked more than the richer, in both sexes. Among men, the prevalence of smoking was inversely proportional to duration of schooling, but that difference was not noted in women. As there have been other studies regarding the high prevalence of obesity and high blood pressure, it was concluded therefore that the population of Araraquara, an average town of the affluent urban interior of S. Paulo State, has a high frequency of risk factors for chronic non-transmissible diseases.     

Smoking, advertising, and psychology.

J. D. Matarazzo (see record 1982-25842-001) suggested that the substantial increase in adult female smokers between 1955 and 1979 resulted from advertisements carefully crafted with the help of psychologists. The present author, however, argues that there is a more plausible explanation: During the same period, the substantial educational achievement gap between men and women was eliminated, and the attendant changes in living habits and family structure are more easily linked to the use of tobacco than are the effects of advertising promotion. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Competence, delinquency, and attempts to attain possible selves.

The impact of impulsivity, possible selves, and social and communication skills on delinquent involvement in 230 inner-city high school and incarcerated boys (aged 13–17 yrs) was explored. Impulsivity, perceived attempts to attain possible selves, and balance in possible selves were hypothesized to directly influence delinquency. Social and communication skills were hypothesized to influence delinquency directly and indirectly through their effects on impulsivity, balance, and attempts to attain possible selves. These factors discriminated moderately well between high school and incarcerated youths. Impulsivity was an especially powerful predictor of self-reported delinquency among high school youths but not among incarcerated youths. The effect of other variables differed somewhat for different categories of delinquency (aggression, theft, hooliganism, and school truancy) and between subsamples, suggesting the importance of examining the subjective meaning of each of these behaviors for the individual in his social context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Immobilized enzymes--learning from past successes and failures

The use of immobilized enzymes in the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries has increased steadily during the past decade. Further research and development in enzyme technology is expected to expand their use in the synthesis of chiral drugs, complex organic compounds and fine chemicals, and lead to the construction of novel, specific biosensors.     

Familism, mother-daughter mutuality, and suicide attempts of adolescent Latinas.

National surveys in the U.S. reveal that Latina adolescents have higher rates of suicide attempts than females of other ethnic and racial groups. Past reports indicate that the suicide attempts among Latinas are lodged within family contexts in which sociocultural and individual experiences influence parental and adolescent behaviors. To better understand the parent-adolescent relations that explain the Latina suicidal phenomenon, we examined how the high value on family unity and support, as reflected by familism, and its effects on mother-daughter mutuality (i.e., reciprocal empathy and engagement) were evident in a group of adolescent Latinas with suicide attempts and a group of adolescent Latinas without suicide attempts. Drawing from data on 169 mother-daughter dyads recruited from Latino communities in a Northeastern metropolis and who self-identified as being of Latino origin or heritage, we considered how differences in familism between mothers and daughters influenced their sense of mutuality, the adolescents' internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and suicide attempts. Results show that gaps in familism (mothers scoring higher than their daughters on the scale) predicted less mother-daughter mutuality and more externalizing behaviors in the adolescents. Also, mother-daughter mutuality was negatively related to internalizing and externalizing behaviors which, in turn, predicted suicide attempts. Findings point to further research on family interactions that raise the risk for suicidality in Latino youth, particularly to including fathers and siblings in study designs. Clinical implications point to enhancing family and dyadic communication skills focusing mutuality while observing the cultural value of familism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Smoking, stress, and coronary heart disease.

Smoking is a major coronary heart disease risk factor that has proven to be very resistant to treatment efforts. For many smokers, environmental stressors, which have also been related to coronary heart disease risk, appear to be strong determinants of smoking behavior and of relapse after cessation. This review focuses on the interrelation between stressors and smoking and on the potential impact of this interrelation on coronary heart disease risk beyond that which is due to stressors or to smoking alone. First, evidence supporting the interrelation between stress and smoking and its relevance to the risk of heart disease is reviewed. Second, mechanisms that may explain why smokers smoke more during stress and why stress may cause relapse are discussed. Finally, new directions in the development of individualized methods to assess, understand, and treat stress-related smoking and relapse are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Frequency perception of individual and group successes as a function of competition, coaction, and isolation

The frequency perception of successful and unsuccessful outcomes obtained in serial tasks was investigated in two experiments. Subjects were assigned to serial tasks in which the outcome stimuli ("right" and "wrong") immediately followed subjects' responses to each task item. Subjects' perceptual judgment about the number of "rights and wrongs" obtained was requested at the end of the serial task (incidental event perception). In Experiment 1, subjects performing in groups of four were compared with individual performers both in competing and noncompeting (coacting) conditions. In Experiment 2, the influence of verbal communication and competition versus isolation was examined. Significant and predicted differences in frequeency perception were found (a) in group performers as compared with individual performers, (b) in groups with verbal communication as compared with groups without verbal communication, and (c) in competing groups as compared with noncompeting, especially isolated, groups. The frequency perception of success is discussed in the context of impression formation processes, and its impact on person perception and learning is mentioned. A tentative explanation in terms of affective and cognitive processes related to social interaction is submitted.