Pregnant and nonpregnant smokers attitude toward smoking

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose was to study changes in attitude toward smoking over a relatively short span of 14 days after an initiation period during which period 40 women had decided to quit smoking and maintaining abstinence during their participation in the study. In the study were also included 40 women still smoking. Methods: Eighty women participated in the study, with twenty in each group formed by the variables pregnancy/nonpregnancy and wishing to quit smoking/not wishing to quit smoking. The women were for each day (i.e., Days 1–7 and 14) asked to respond to the question ‘How do you like smoking?’ reflecting the participants' general attitude toward smoking. Results: The main effects were decreased liking of smoking across time and across all groups, with an overall less liking in those who quit. This less liking did not differ across pregnancy status. There was only small effect for time giving a more negative attitude toward smoking, not actual outcomes, which were already different at baseline and stayed that way throughout. Conclusions: Motivational and psychological aspects have a larger impact on behavior change compared to physical variables like being pregnant or not.