Self-Planned Smoking Cessation: A Retrospective Study of the Strategies and Resources Used by Individuals in Quitting and Remaining Quit

Carl, Linda Shefler

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Description

Title

Self-Planned Smoking Cessation: A Retrospective Study of the Strategies and Resources Used by Individuals in Quitting and Remaining Quit

Author(s)

Carl, Linda Shefler

Issue Date

1980

Department of Study

Education

Discipline

Education

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

Education, Adult and Continuing

Language

eng

Abstract

• Interviews were administered to a random population of 30 successful and 34 unsuccessful quitters in order to investigate if there was a difference in the strategies and resources used in self-planned smoking cessation. Self-planned quitters were defined as those responsible for planning their last attempt to quit within the last five years; unsuccessful quitters were defined as those current smokers who had quit for at least one week within the last five years.
• The interviewees were largely indistinguishable from the national population of current and former smokers in smoking history and demographic characteristics except that they were younger and more educated than quitters nationally. Successful quitters were more likely than unsuccessful quitters to be married, to be heavier smokers, and to have attempted to have quit fewer times.
• There was no difference between successful and unsuccessful quitters in their reasons for quitting. The only strategies that distinguished successful and unsuccessful quitters in preparing to quit and remaining quit were cognitive or verbal. For example, unsuccessful quitters were more likely than successful quitters to say they reminded themselves of their reason for quitting, thought or talked to themselves to direct their remaining quit, and let others know of their attempt to quit. No strategy which required a special effort (including self-reward) was utilized by the majority of quitters although nearly half of all quitters did use gum or food as a substitute for quitting.
• The use of rational problem solving as a general strategy was investigated directly and indirectly. On the whole, quitters did not utilize a problem solving strategy. However, unsuccessful quitters were somewhat more likely than successful quitters to anticipate problems in advance of quitting.
• Except for friends, quitters utilized few resources in quitting and remaining quit. There was no difference in the use of specific resources between successful and unsuccessful quitters except that unsuccessful quitters were more likely than successful quitters to have been influenced by friends in their decision to quit. Unsuccessful quitters were also more likely than successful quitters to say they would have benefitted from more help from another person in their attempt to quit; neither unsuccessful or successful quitters thought they would have benefitted from help from any non-human resource, e.g. books or films. Quitters preferred quitting on their own to enrolling in a group program primarily because of a desire to set their own structure and pace.
• The lack of major differences between successful and unsuccessful quitters may be due to the fact that the groups were not distinctive enough. Unsuccessful quitters might have been or become successful quitters; successful quitters may become recidivists. Differences between successful and unsuccessful quitters may be due to quitters perceptual images of the causal nature of success and failure, i.e. unsuccessful quitters may believe that failure is a result of poor motivation rather than a result of ineffective planning or cessation strategies. Since unsuccessful quitters appear to have had or want more support than successful quitters, the role of friends in smoking cessation is worthy of further investigation.

Graduation Semester

1980

Type of Resource

text

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