Social support and quitting smoking for good. Is there an association? Results from the population study, “men born in 1914,” Malmö, Sweden

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Abstract

The objective in this study was to analyse whether there is independent association between social network, social support, social influence and quitting smoking for good. The study sample (n = 621) comprised a random half of all male Malmö residents born in 1914, of which 500 (80.5%) participated. A new instrument based on a model with carefully defined and well differentiated concepts was used to measure different aspects of social network, social support and social influence. In logistic regression analysis, emotional support (an important aspect of social support) had an association to quitting smoking for good (odds ratio 3.1, 95% confidence interval 1.9–5.4), when adjustments were made for social class, marital status (spousal support), alcohol consumption, physical activity, smoking of spouse and different medical conditions. Emotional support reflects the individuals' opportunity for care, encouragement of personal value and feelings of confidence and trust. This may contribute to a deeper understanding of mechanisms behind smoking cessation and could be of importance in the field of health promotion, but also for improvement of the long-term results of smoking cessation programs and in our clinical work with patients who smoke.

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      2016, Drug and Alcohol Dependence
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      Individuals of lower socioeconomic status have substantially higher rates of smoking (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014), are more dependent on cigarettes, and have a harder time quitting smoking than individuals of higher socioeconomic status (Businelle et al., 2010; Fernandez et al., 2006; Kendzor et al., 2012; Wetter et al., 2005). Notably, socioeconomic disadvantage is also associated with lower social support (Campbell et al., 1986; Cohen et al., 1999; John-Henderson et al., 2015; Murray et al., 1995) and having less social support is associated with a reduced likelihood of smoking cessation (Hanson et al., 1990; Lawhon et al., 2009; Mermelstein et al., 1986; Murray et al., 1995). Surprisingly, interventions that have aimed to increase social support have had limited success (Tsoh et al., 2015) at increasing smoking cessation (Hogan et al., 2002; May and West, 2000).

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    This study has been granted from The Bank of Sweden Tercentery Foundation, The Wallenberg Foundation, the Swedish Delegation for Social research, the Swedish Medical Research Council and the Medical Faculty at the Lund University.

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