Attributional styles of women who quit or reduce smoking in the antepartum

Background: Researchers in the field of smoking have sought to identify variables that predict whether or not pregnant smokers stop or continue to smoke. Most variables examined are demographic in nature and little is known about psychological variables associated with those who quit or reduce smoking while pregnant. Purpose: To analyze attributional style and locus of control to determine which factors alone, or in combination, are associated with quitting versus reduced smoking among pregnant smokers. Methodology: Pregnant smokers who quit (n = 66) or reduced their smoking (n = 43) were identified by the nursing staff at a women’s county out-patient clinic in Las Vegas and were interviewed by telephone between March 2002 and August 2004. Subjects completed measures of attributional styles, locus of control and smoking habits. The Beck Depression scale was administered to control for depression. Results: Both groups had similar attributional styles, which were pessimistic (below the midpoint of zero on the scale of-18 to +18); however, quitters (mean=-1.7) were significantly less pessimistic than reduced smokers (mean=-3.4) (p\u3c 0.001). There were no differences in locus of control between the two groups. Compared to reduced smokers, quitters were younger (median=22 vs. 26, p=0.036) and less likely to live with a smoker (57.6% vs. 72.1%, p Implications for Preventive Care: Reduced smokers were more pessimistic, especially for internal causality for negative situations, which indicates a personality difference between groups. This suggests attribution therapy may be effective for reduced smokers to encourage them to quit completely