Social influences on smoking in middle-aged and older women.

Pubmed ID: 22004130

Pubmed Central ID: PMC8237531

Journal: Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors

Publication Date: Sept. 1, 2012

MeSH Terms: Humans, Female, Aged, Age Factors, Middle Aged, Smoking, Prospective Studies, Follow-Up Studies, Smoking Cessation, Social Support, Recurrence, Statistics as Topic, Social Facilitation

Grants: 1R03DA025225-01A1, R03 DA025225

Authors: Holahan CK, Holahan CJ, Powers DA, Hayes RB, Ockene JK, North RJ

Cite As: Holahan CJ, North RJ, Holahan CK, Hayes RB, Powers DA, Ockene JK. Social influences on smoking in middle-aged and older women. Psychol Addict Behav 2012 Sep;26(3):519-26. Epub 2011 Oct 17.

Studies:

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of 2 types of social influence--general social support and living with a smoker--on smoking behavior among middle-aged and older women in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Observational Study. Participants were postmenopausal women who reported smoking at some time in their lives (N=37,027), who were an average age of 63.3 years at baseline. Analyses used multiple logistic regression and controlled for age, educational level, and ethnicity. In cross-sectional analyses, social support was associated with a lower likelihood and living with a smoker was associated with a higher likelihood of being a current smoker and, among smokers, of being a heavier smoker. Moreover, in prospective analyses among baseline smokers, social support predicted a higher likelihood and living with a smoker predicted a lower likelihood of smoking cessation 1-year later. Further, in prospective analyses among former smokers who were not smoking at baseline, social support predicted a lower likelihood and living with a smoker predicted a higher likelihood of smoking relapse 1-year later. Overall, the present results indicate that social influences are important correlates of smoking status, smoking level, smoking cessation, and smoking relapse among middle-aged and older women.