Social support in smoking cessation: reconciling theory and evidence.
BACKGROUND
The majority of smokers attempt to quit smoking on their own, but in any given year, only 5% or less are successful. To improve cessation rates, tapping social networks for social support during quitting has been recommended or tested in some interventions. Prior reviews of this research, however, have concluded that there is little to no evidence that partner support interventions are effective.


CONCLUSIONS
Given the theoretical importance of the concept of social support, its demonstrated value in treatments that are implicitly supportive (e.g., telephone counseling), and the general lack of a guiding conceptual framework for research on the effects of peer or partner support for cessation, we describe theoretical models that explicitly incorporate social support constructs in predicting motivation for and success in quitting.


CONCLUSIONS
Better differentiation of support concepts and elucidating causal pathways will lead to studies that demonstrate the value of social relationships in improving smokers' likelihood of cessation.
Behavioral Research Center, American Cancer Society, 250 Williams Street, NW, Suite 6D.432, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA. lee.westmaas@cancer.org
J Lee
JL
Westmaas
Jeuneviette
J
Bontemps-Jones
Joseph E
JE
Bauer
D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D009042:Motivation; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D012944:Social Support; D014481:United States