Parent quit attempts after counseling to reduce children's secondhand smoke exposure and promote cessation: main and moderating relationships.
BACKGROUND
This study explored predictors of smoking quit attempts in a sample of low-income smoking mothers who participated in a randomized trial of a 6-month, 14-session counseling intervention to decrease their children's secondhand smoke exposure (SHSe) and eliminate smoking.


METHODS
Measures were taken at baseline and at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months on 150 mothers who exposed their children (aged <4 years) to > or = 10 cigarettes/week in the home. Reported 7-day quits were verified by saliva cotinine or urine anabasine and anatabine levels.


RESULTS
There were few quits longer than 6 months. Mothers in the counseling group reported more 24-hr quits (p = .019) and more 7-day quits (p = .029) than controls. Multivariate modeling revealed that having quit for at least 24 hr in the year prior to baseline and the number of alternative cessation methods ever tried were predictive of the longest quit attempt during the 18-month study. Mothers in the counseling group who at baseline felt SHSe posed a health risk for their children or who at baseline had more permissive home smoking policies had longer quit attempts.


CONCLUSIONS
Results confirm that attempts to quit smoking predict additional quit attempts. This suggests that practice may be necessary for many people to quit smoking permanently. Findings of interaction analyses suggest that participant factors may alter the effects of treatment procedures. Failure to account for or employ such factors in the analysis or design of community trials could confound the results of intervention trials.
Liles
Sandy
S
Center for Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92123, USA.
Hovell
Melbourne F
MF
Matt
Georg E
GE
Zakarian
Joy M
JM
Jones
Jennifer A
JA
D000328:Adult; D002140:California; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003367:Cotinine / Q000032:analysis; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000517:prevention & control*
D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D003367:Cotinine