Subject Characteristics as Predictors of Self Change in Smoking

Four categories of subject characteristics that included demographic, smoking history, health history and life experiences variables were investigated as predictors of smokers\u27 success or failure in their self change efforts at smoking cessation over a 6 month period. Seven hundred and three adult subjects represented five stages of change based on the transtheoretical model: precontemplation, contemplation, action, maintenance and relapse. Two significant multiple discriminant functions were found which predicted movement through each of these stages. Results indicate that the presence of health problems impacted Immotive smokers to move beyond the precontemplation stage. Four smoking history variables, problem duration, daily cigarettes, previous attempts to quit, and pleasure were found to either predict movement through the stages of change or significantly discriminate between smoke.rs in different stages. Overall, a pattern emerged in which the stronger the smoking habit, the less apt the smoker is to quit or maintain a non-smoking status. Demographic findings suggested that smokers with higher incomes and more years of education are more likely than persons of lower socioeconomic levels to be successful in their self change efforts. The non-significant findings of the present investigation are compared with a recent study of smoking behavior change in order -to demonstrate the advantages of process-oriented, rather than static variables, for predicting self-change