Smoking cessation efforts among substance abusing adolescents.
Available research demonstrates that substance abusing youth are heavy cigarette smokers for whom the behavior persists into adulthood. As such this population represents an important target for intervention. In order to inform treatment design, the present paper described cessation efforts, including motives and methods for quitting, in a sample of cigarette smoking adolescents who received inpatient or outpatient treatment for substance abuse. The 183 participants were on average 16.2 years old, 45% were females, and 72% were white. Consistent with studies of community and high risk youth samples, the majority of participants had previously attempted cessation, yet reported little success in maintaining abstinence. Health emerged as a frequently endorsed motive for cessation and stopping abruptly (cold turkey) was the most commonly reported strategy for quitting.
Myers
Mark G
MG
Department of Psychiatry, Psychology Service, 116B, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive University of California, San Diego, CA 92161, USA. mgmyers@ucsd.edu
MacPherson
Laura
L
D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*