title: Social support as a moderator of the relationship between recent history of depression and smoking cessation among lower-educated women.
abstract: We examined psychosocial mechanisms linking recent history of depression and subsequent short-term smoking cessation. Our sample included lower-educated women smokers who registered for a brief cessation intervention (registrant panel; n = 1,198), and a quasicontrol panel not participating in the intervention (population panel; n = 682). Women were surveyed by telephone every 6 months for a period of 2 years, measuring psychosocial variables (motivation, self-efficacy, perceived stress, and social support) and self-reported smoking status (7-day abstinence) at each point. In both panels, smoking rate and self-efficacy were strong independent predictors of subsequent cessation, but recent history of depression (as measured 6 months earlier) was not a significant predictor. However, among only the registrant panel, the effects of recent history of depression were significantly moderated by social support. Recently depressed women who had higher levels of perceived social support were as likely to quit subsequently as women who did not have a recent history of depression. The determinants of successful quitting among lower-educated women differ between those who seek assistance and those who do not.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60608, USA. lindseyt@uic.edu
authors.forename: Lindsey R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mermelstein
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hitsman
authors.forename: Richard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Warnecke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015984:Causality; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011788:Quality of Life; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology; D016387:Women's Health