Motivating Latino Smokers to Quit: Does Type of Social Support Matter?

Abstract

Social support may help smokers quit and buffer against factors that hinder quitting. The study's aims are to examine which types of social support are effective for quitting smoking among Latino smokers and whether social support buffers the effects of depressed mood on smoking cessation. Participants were Latino smokers with children with asthma (N = 131, mean age = 37 years, 73% female). They did not have to want to quit smoking to participate. Smoking status was biochemically verified at a 3-month follow-up. Social support was assessed as whether or not the participant had a significant other, level of perceived general support (Interpersonal Support Evaluation List) and level of perceived partner support for smoking cessation (Partner Interaction Questionnaire). Depressed mood was assessed with the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale. Hierarchical logistic regression. Thirty percent of those with a partner quit smoking versus 14.3% of those without a partner. 43.5% of those with high levels of perceived positive partner support quit smoking vs. 17.4% of those with low levels. There was a significant interaction between whether or not a smoker had a partner and depressed mood on quitting: among those not partnered, quit rates were higher among those with low levels of depressed mood (37%) than among those with high levels of depressed mood (9%; odds ratio = 1.147, 95% confidence interval = 1.031-1.276, p < .02). Among those partnered, quit rates were not significantly different between those with high vs. low levels of depressed mood. This paper is the first to examine multiple sources of support for smoking cessation in Latino smokers; partner support and the presence of a significant other are associated with quitting smoking.