Changes in Social Capital and Cigarette Smoking Behavior Over Time: A Population-Based Panel Study of Temporal Relationships

Conclusions:
Initial marital breakdown predicted a high risk of smoking relapse/initiation. The timing of this life event provides a critical window where adverse smoking behavior might occur. Conversely, the positive effects of active social participation on cigarette cessation remained consistent, its absence further predicting smoking relapse/initiation. Robustness of results confirms the important role that active participation has on cigarette smoking behavior. Group smoking cessation interventions could harness participatory elements to better achieve their goals.

Implications:
By investigating temporal relationships between well-known smoking determinants and cigarette smoking outcomes, we identified that being "separated" (not "divorced") at time (t) predicted a higher risk of smoking relapse/initiation at (t). Tailored health messages could be employed to highlight the increased risk of cigarette smoking relapse/initiation during this stressful life event. Conversely, active social participation (a common social capital proxy) consistently predicted smoking cessation over time. Future group smoking cessation interventions could be designed explicitly to harness participatory elements to better achieve their goals.

Source: Nicotine and Tobacco Research - October 7, 2016 Category: Addiction Authors: Lindström, M., Giordano, G. N. Tags: Original Investigation Source Type: research