Comparing belief in short-term versus long-term consequences of smoking and vaping as predictors of non-use in a 3-year nationally representative survey study of US youth

Implicit Theories of Smoking and Intention to Quit: A Serial Mediation Model

INTRODUCTION

There is growing evidence that implicit theories of smoking (ITS)-whether smokers perceive smoking behavior as malleable or fixed-are significant predictors of quitting intentions.

AIMS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study aims to investigate the underlying mechanisms of implicit theories on smoking in predicting smokers' intentions to quit. We conducted multiple linear regression with quitting intentions as the dependent variable, ITS as the independent variable, and sociodemographic variables, quitting attempts in the past year, and receiving quitting advice in the past 12 months as the covariates. The mediating role of consideration of future consequences (CFC) and self-efficacy in the relationship between implicit theories of smoking and quitting intentions was evaluated by mediation analyses.

RESULTS

A total of 510 smokers were included in the final analyses. Smokers holding a higher incremental theory of smoking reported a higher likelihood of considering future consequences (β = 0.289, p < .001) and a weaker possibility of considering immediate results (β = -0.317, p < .001), which, in turn, enhanced their quitting self-efficacy and then led to stronger intentions to quit smoking (β = 0.261, p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

The current study enriched our understanding of the underlying mechanisms that connect smokers' ITS and their likelihood of smoking cessation such that higher incremental theories of smoking predict stronger intention to quit smoking, and the effect was serially mediated by smokers' likelihood of considering future consequences of their behavior and their perceived self-efficacy for smoking cessation.

IMPLICATIONS

This study indicated the mediating role of CFC and self-efficacy for smoking cessation on the relationship between the ITS and quitting intentions. These two psychological factors and the pathways may be important points for understanding the model of implicit theories for smoking and improving the effectiveness of implicit theories-based intervention on smoking cessation.

Scanned information exposure and support for tobacco regulations among US youth and young adult tobacco product users and non-users

The influences of information exposure on youth and young adults' (YYA) support for smoking/vaping regulations have been understudied. This study examines (i) the relationships between routine exposure to (i.e. scanning) anti-smoking/pro-vaping information and YYA support for anti-smoking/vaping regulations and (ii) whether these relationships differ across YYA users and non-users of tobacco products. We analyzed the data from a nationally representative two-wave rolling cross-sectional survey of YYA in the United States, collected from 2014 to 2017 (baseline n = 10 642; follow-up n = 4001). Less than 5% of the participants ever scanned pro-smoking and anti-vaping information. Scanning anti-smoking information had significant positive relationships with support for all anti-smoking policies cross-sectionally, and this pattern was longitudinally significant in two anti-smoking policy contexts. Scanning pro-vaping information had significant negative associations with support for anti-vaping policies cross-sectionally, but not longitudinally. The lagged positive relationships between scanning anti-smoking information and support for anti-smoking regulations were stronger among YYA smokers than among YYA non-smokers, whereas evidence from adult data suggested the opposite pattern. The findings suggest that scanning information can affect YYA support for tobacco regulations. Future efforts are required to investigate mechanisms underlying the influences of scanned information on YYA support for tobacco regulations.

The Effects of Tobacco Coverage in the Public Communication Environment on Young People's Decisions to Smoke Combustible Cigarettes

In today's complex media environment, does media coverage influence youth and young adults' (YYA) tobacco use and intentions? We conceptualize the "public communication environment" and effect mediators, then ask whether over time variation in exogenously measured tobacco media coverage from mass and social media sources predicts daily YYA cigarette smoking intentions measured in a rolling nationally representative phone survey (N = 11,847 on 1,147 days between May 2014 and June 2017). Past week anti-tobacco and pro-tobacco content from Twitter, newspapers, broadcast news, Associated Press, and web blogs made coherent scales (thetas = 0.77 and 0.79). Opportunities for exposure to anti-tobacco content in the past week predicted lower intentions to smoke (Odds ratio [OR] = 0.95, p < .05, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.91-1.00). The effect was stronger among current smokers than among nonsmokers (interaction OR = 0.88, p < .05, 95% CI = 0.77-1.00). These findings support specific effects of anti-tobacco media coverage and illustrate a productive general approach to conceptualizing and assessing effects in the complex media environment.