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Authors: Jorge Vacas (Smoking Cessation and Addictive Disorders Unit. Faculty of Psychology. University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Institute of Psychology (IPsiUS), University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain).), María Ramos-Carro (Smoking Cessation and Addictive Disorders Unit. Faculty of Psychology. University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Institute of Psychology (IPsiUS), University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain).), Elizabeth Moss-Alonso (Smoking Cessation and Addictive Disorders Unit. Faculty of Psychology. University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Institute of Psychology (IPsiUS), University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain).), María Barroso-Hurtado (Smoking Cessation and Addictive Disorders Unit. Faculty of Psychology. University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain)), Carmela Martínez-Vispo (Smoking Cessation and Addictive Disorders Unit. Faculty of Psychology. University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Institute of Psychology (IPsiUS), University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain).), Ana López-Durán (Smoking Cessation and Addictive Disorders Unit. Faculty of Psychology. University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Institute of Psychology (IPsiUS), University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain).), Elisardo Becoña (Smoking Cessation and Addictive Disorders Unit. Faculty of Psychology. University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Institute of Psychology (IPsiUS), University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain).)
Background: Relapse is a common phenomenon in the smoking cessation process. While previous research has shown a positive association between social support and smoking cessation outcomes, little is known about the specific impact of different sources of social support on smoking relapse, particularly exploring differences by sex. The aim of this study was to examine the association between different types of social support and smoking relapse at 6-month follow-up after receiving a smoking cessation intervention, emphasized textexploring sex differences.
Methods: The study sample was composed of 441 participants who quit smoking after receiving a psychological smoking cessation intervention (64.4% women; Mage = 45.17, SD = 10.59) at the Smoking Cessation and Addictive Disorders Unit (University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain). The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) was used to assess perceived social support at baseline (i.e., Friends, Family and Significant other subscales). Sex differences were analyzed. Logistic regressions were conducted to examine the relationship between social support subscales and the likelihood of relapses.
Results: Results showed significantly higher baseline scores in the Friends subscale among women than among men, and higher scores in the Family subscale among men than among women. Binary logistic regressions showed that higher scores in the Friends subscale were related to a lower likelihood of relapse at the 6-month follow-up in the full sample (OR = 0.949; p = 0.040). When analyses were stratified by sex, this inverse association remained significant among men (OR = 0.923; p = 0.039) but not among women.
Discussion: Perceived social support appears to differ by sex and seems to have a different impact on the likelihood of relapse. Specifically, social support provided by friends appears to be a protective factor against relapse in men. This may help tailor interventions to participants and thus prevent smoking relapses.
| Conflict of interest | The authors declare no conflicts of interest |
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