A path model of smoking cessation in women smokers of low socio-economic status

Abstract

The goals of this study were to (i) determine how factors commonly implicated in smoking cessation processes influenced smoking cessation in low socio-economic status (SES) women and (ii) elucidate the pathways through which these factors may lead to quitting smoking. Secondary analysis was conducted on data from 644 women smokers aged 18-45 years who had participated in an earlier experimental evaluation of a smoking cessation program, were still smokers at the 2-month post-intervention survey and completed an interview 6 months later. Path analysis (LISREL 8) was used to test a conceptual model in which (i) factors considered as precursors to quitting (motivation, self-efficacy, confidence, action and intention to quit) directly predicted subsequent quitting and (ii) health concerns, social pressure to quit and daily stress influenced quitting indirectly through their effects on the precursor factors and (iii) mediated the effects of background characteristics (race, education, single motherhood, pregnancy and exposure to the earlier smoking cessation intervention) on quitting. Overall, results supported this conceptual model and its applicability to low-SES women smokers and indicated significant pathways among specific factors. In particular, (i) only plans to quit, confidence and social pressure to quit directly predicted quitting; (ii) both health concerns and social pressure increased motivation to quit and (iii) the negative effect of daily stress on quitting was mediated through decreased self-efficacy.