Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T08:33:37.592Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A Cross-Sectional Study of Happiness and Smoking Cessation Among Parents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2015

Jeremy E. Drehmer*
Affiliation:
Center for Child and Adolescent Health Research and Policy, Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA Tobacco Research and Treatment Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Bethany Hipple
Affiliation:
Center for Child and Adolescent Health Research and Policy, Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA Tobacco Research and Treatment Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Deborah J. Ossip
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
Emara Nabi-Burza
Affiliation:
Center for Child and Adolescent Health Research and Policy, Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA Tobacco Research and Treatment Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Jonathan P. Winickoff
Affiliation:
Center for Child and Adolescent Health Research and Policy, Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA Tobacco Research and Treatment Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA AAP Richmond Center of Excellence, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, IL
*
Address for correspondence: Jeremy E. Drehmer, MPH, Center for Child and Adolescent Health Research and Policy, Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, 100 Cambridge Street, 15th floor, Suite 1542-C5, Boston, MA 02114. Email: [email protected]

Abstract

Introduction: Smoking cessation among adults is associated with increased happiness. This association has not been measured in parents, a subset of adults who face uniquely stressful and challenging circumstances that can affect happiness.

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine if parental smoking cessation is associated with increased happiness and to identify characteristics of parental quitters who experience increased happiness.

Methods: A total of 1,355 parents completed a 12-month follow-up interview from a U.S. national trial, Clinical Effort Against Secondhand Smoke Exposure (CEASE). Multivariable logistic regression examined if level of happiness was independently associated with quitting smoking and identified characteristics associated with feeling happier after quitting smoking.

Results/Findings: Parents’ level of happiness was independently associated with quitting smoking (aOR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.42–1.79). Factors associated with increased happiness among quitters include engaging in evidence-based cessation assistance (aOR = 2.69, 95% CI = 1.16–6.26), and adopting strictly enforced smoke-free home (aOR = 2.55, 95% CI = 1.19–5.48) and car (aOR = 3.85, 95% CI = 1.94–7.63) policies. Additionally, parents who believed that being a smoker got in the way of being a parent (aOR = 5.37, 95% CI = 2.61–11.07) and who believed that thirdhand smoke is harmful to children (aOR = 3.28, 95% CI = 1.16–9.28) were more likely to report feeling happier after quitting.

Conclusions: Parents who quit smoking reported being happier than parents who did not quit. Though prospective studies can clarify what factors cause an increase in happiness, letting paediatricians know that most parents who smoke report being happier when quitting may facilitate communication with parents around cessation.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abdel-Khalek, A. M. (2006). Measuring happiness with a single-item scale. Social Behavior and Personality, 34 (2), 139150.Google Scholar
American Academy of Pediatrics Division of Health Services Research (2006). Pediatricians cite barriers to tobacco cessation counseling. AAP News, 27 (12), 17. Retrieved from http://aapnews.aappublications.org/content/27/12/17.1.full.Google Scholar
Bränström, R., Penilla, C., Pérez-Stable, E.J., & Muñoz, R.F. (2010). Positive affect and mood management in successful smoking cessation. American Journal of Health Behavior, 34 (5), 553562. doi:10.5993/AJHB.34.5.5.Google Scholar
Cohen, S., & Lichtenstein, E. (1990). Perceived stress, quitting smoking, and smoking relapse. Health Psychology, 9 (4), 466478. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.9.4.466.Google Scholar
Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Lucas, R.E. (2009). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and life satisfaction. In Lopez, S. J. & Snyder, C. R. (Eds.), Oxford handbook of positive psychology (2nd edn.) (pp. 187194). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Doran, N., Spring, B., Borrelli, B., McChargue, D., Hitsman, B., & Niaura, R. et al. (2006). Elevated positive mood: A mixed blessing for abstinence. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 20 (1), 3643. doi:10.1037/0893-164X.20.1.36.Google Scholar
Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56 (3), 218226. doi:10.1037//0003-066X.56.3.218.Google Scholar
Fredrickson, B. L., & Joiner, T. (2002). Positive emotions trigger upward spirals toward emotional well-being. Psychological Science, 13 (2), 172175. doi:10.1111/1467-9280.00431.Google Scholar
Friebely, J., Rigotti, N. A., Chang, Y., Hall, N., Weiley, V., & Dempsey, J. et al. (2013). Parent smoker role conflict and planning to quit smoking: A cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 13 (164). doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-164.Google Scholar
Friedman-Wheeler, D. G., Haaga, D. A., Gunthert, K. C., Ahrens, A. H., & McIntosh, E. (2008). Depression, neuroticism, and mood-regulation expectancies for engagement and disengagement coping among cigarette smokers. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 32 (1), 105115. doi:10.1007/s10608-006-9099-5.Google Scholar
Gilbert, H. M., & Warburton, D. M. (2003). Individual variation in psychological and psychomotor symptoms following smoking cessation: The implications for treatment. Psychology & Health, 18 (5), 613624. doi:10.1080/0887044032000069892.Google Scholar
Gwaltney, C. J., Metrik, J., Kahler, C. W., & Shiffman, S. (2009). Self-efficacy and smoking cessation: A meta-analysis. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 23 (1), 5666. doi:10.1037/a0013529.Google Scholar
Gwaltney, C. J., Shiffman, S., Balabanis, M. H., & Paty, J. A. (2005). Dynamic self-efficacy and outcome expectancies: Prediction of smoking lapse and relapse. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 114 (4), 661675.Google Scholar
Hajek, P., Taylor, T., & McRobbie, H. (2010). The effect of stopping smoking on perceived stress levels. Addiction, 105 (8), 14661471. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.02979.x.Google Scholar
Kahler, C. W., Spillane, N. S., Day, A., Clerkin, E., Parks, A., & Leventhal, A. M. et al. (2014). Positive psychotherapy for smoking cessation: Treatment development, feasibility, and preliminary results. Journal of Positive Psychology, 9 (1), 1929.Google Scholar
Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success. Psychological Bulletin, 131 (6), 803855.Google Scholar
Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9 (2), 111131. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.111.Google Scholar
Mathew, A. R., Robinson, J. D., Norton, P. J., Cinciripini, P. M., Brown, R. A., & Blalock, J. A. (2013). Affective trajectories before and after a quit attempt among smokers with current depressive disorders. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 15 (11), 18071815.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McDermott, M. S., Marteau, T. M., Hollands, G. J., Hankins, M., & Aveyard, P. (2013). Change in anxiety following successful and unsuccessful attempts at smoking cessation: Cohort study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 202 (1), 6267. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.112.114389.Google Scholar
McEwen, A., West, R., & McRobbie, H. (2008). Motives for smoking and their correlates in clients attending stop smoking treatment services. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 10 (5), 843850.Google Scholar
Myers, D. G., & Diener, E. (1995). Who Is Happy? Psychological Science, 6 (1), 1019. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1995.tb00298.x.Google Scholar
Nabi-Burza, E., Regan, S., Drehmer, J., Ossip, D., Rigotti, N., & Hipple, B. et al. (2012). Parents smoking in their cars with children present. Pediatrics, 130 (6), e1471e1478. doi:10.1542/peds.2012-0334.Google Scholar
Nelson, S. K., Kushlev, K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2014). The pains and pleasures of parenting: When, why, and how is parenthood associated with more or less well-being? Psychological Bulletin, 140 (3), 846895.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ockene, J. K., Emmons, K. M., Mermelstein, R. J., Perkins, K. A., Bonollo, D. S., & Voorhees, C. C. et al. (2000). Relapse and maintenance issues for smoking cessation. Health Psychology, 19 Suppl 1, 1731.Google Scholar
Pérez-Stable, E. J., Juarez-Reyes, M., Kaplan, C., Fuentes-Afflick, E., Gildengorin, V., & Millstein, S. (2001). Counseling smoking parents of young children: Comparison of pediatricians and family physicians. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 155 (1), 2531.Google Scholar
Resnicow, K., McMaster, F., Woolford, S., Slora, E., Bocian, A., & Harris, D. et al. (2012). Study design and baseline description of the BMI2 trial: Reducing paediatric obesity in primary care practices. Pediatric Obesity, 7 (1), 315. doi:10.1111/j.2047-6310.2011.00001.x.Google Scholar
Rudd, M., Aaker, J., & Norton, M.I. (2014) Getting the most out of giving: Concretely framing a prosocial goal maximizes happiness. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 54, 1124. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2014.04.002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schutte, N. S. (2014). The broaden and build process: Positive affect, ratio of positive to negative affect and general self-efficacy. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 9 (1), 6674. doi:10.1080/17439760.2013.841280.Google Scholar
Seligman, M. E., Parks, A. C., & Steen, T. (2004). A balanced psychology and a full life. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 359 (1449), 13791381.Google Scholar
Shahab, L., Andrews, S., & West, R. (2013). Changes in prevalence of depression and anxiety following smoking cessation: Results from an international cohort study (ATTEMPT). Psychological Medicine, 44 (1), 127141. doi: 10.1017/S0033291713000391.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shahab, L., Gilchrist, G., Hagger-Johnson, G., Shankar, A., West, E., & West, R. (2014, February). The reciprocal association of smoking cessation and depression in older smokers: Findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Paper presented at the meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, Seattle, WA.Google Scholar
Shahab, L., & West, R. (2009). Do ex-smokers report feeling happier following cessation? Evidence from a cross-sectional survey. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 11 (5), 553557. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntp031.Google Scholar
Shahab, L., & West, R. (2012). Differences in happiness between smokers, ex-smokers and never smokers: Cross-sectional findings from a national household survey. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 121 (1–2), 3844. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2011.08.011.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sheldon, K. M., & Kasser, T. (1998). Pursuing personal goals: Skills enable progress, but not all goal progress is beneficial. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 24 (12), 13191331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheldon, K. M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2006). Achieving sustainable gains in happiness: Change your actions, not your circumstances. Journal of Happiness Studies, 7 (1), 5586. doi:10.1007/s10902-005-0868-8.Google Scholar
Slora, E. J., Harris, D. L., Bocian, A. B., & Wasserman, R. C. (2010). Pediatric clinical research networks: Current status, common challenges, and potential solutions. Pediatrics, 126 (4), 740745. doi: 10.1542/peds.2009-3586.Google Scholar
Smit, E., Hoving, C., Schellerman-Offermans, K., West, R., & de Vries, H. (2014). Predictors of successful and unsuccessful quit attempts among smokers motivated to quit. Addictive Behaviors, 39, 13181324. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.04.017.Google Scholar
Smith, E. A., & Malone, R. E. (2013). Military exceptionalism or tobacco exceptionalism: How civilian health leaders’ beliefs may impede military tobacco control efforts. American Journal of Public Health, 103 (4), 599604. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301041.Google Scholar
Social Climate of Tobacco Control (2013). Retrieved June 29, 2013, from http://www.socialclimate.org.Google Scholar
Tugade, M. M., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). Resilient individuals use positive emotions to bounce back from negative emotional experiences. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 86 (2), 320333.Google Scholar
Wang, M. P., Wang, X., Lam, T. H., Viswanath, K., & Chan, S. S. (2014). Ex-smokers are happier than current smokers among Chinese adults in Hong Kong. Addiction, 109 (7), 11651171. doi: 10.1111/add.12531.Google Scholar
Watson, D. (2002). Positive affectivity: The disposition to experience pleasurable emotional states. In Snyder, C. R. & Lopez, S. J. (Eds.), Handbook of Positive Psychology (pp. 106119). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
West, R. (2009). The multiple facets of cigarette addiction and what they mean for encouraging and helping smokers to stop. COPD: The Journal of Chronic Obstructive Disease, 6, 277283. doi: 10.1080/15412550903049181.Google Scholar
West, R., & Hajek, P. (1997). What happens to anxiety levels on giving up smoking? The American Journal of Psychiatry, 154 (11), 15891592.Google Scholar
Winickoff, J. P., Berkowitz, A. B., Brooks, K., Tanski, S. E., Geller, A., & Thomson, C. et al. (2005). State-of-the-art interventions for office-based parental tobacco control. Pediatrics, 115 (3), 750760. doi:10.1542/peds.2004-1055.Google Scholar
Winickoff, J. P., Hipple, B., Drehmer, J., Nabi, E., Hall, N., & Ossip, D. J. et al. (2012). The clinical effort against secondhand smoke exposure (CEASE) intervention: A decade of lessons learned. Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management, 19 (9), 414419.Google Scholar
Winickoff, J. P., McMillen, R. C., Carroll, B. C., Klein, J. D., Rigotti, N. A., & Tanski, S. E. et al. (2003). Addressing parental smoking in pediatrics and family practice: A national survey of parents. Pediatrics, 112 (5), 11461151. doi: 10.1542/peds.112.5.1146.Google Scholar
Winickoff, J. P., Nabi-Burza, E., Chang, Y., Finch, S., Regan, S., & Wasserman, R. et al. (2013). Implementation of a parental tobacco control intervention in pediatric practice. Pediatrics, 132 (1), 109117. doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-3901.Google Scholar
Winickoff, J. P., Park, E. R., Hipple, B. J., Berkowitz, A., Vieira, C., & Friebely, J. et al. (2008). Clinical effort against secondhand smoke exposure: Development of framework and intervention. Pediatrics, 122 (2), e363e375. doi: 10.1542/peds.2008-0478.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yong, H. H., & Borland, R. (2008). Functional beliefs about smoking and quitting activity among adult smokers in four countries: Findings from the International Tobacco Control Four-Country Survey. Health Psychology, 27 Suppl 3, S216S223.Google Scholar
Zand, D. H., Braddock, B., Baig, W., Deasy, J., & Maxim, R. (2013). Role of pediatricians in fostering resilience in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Pediatrics, 163 (6), 17691771. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2013.06.074.Google Scholar