With others or alone? Adolescent individual differences in the context of smoking lapses

Although a great deal of adolescent smoking research has investigated predictors of initiation, much less has focused on predictors of lapsing during a quit attempt. In particular, the role of social context may deserve greater attention in models of adolescent smoking cessation. Therefore, the present investigation aimed to use ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine individual differences in social lapsing--the extent to which lapses occur around others versus when alone.

Analyses focused on 179 adolescent smokers (aged 14-18 years) engaged in an unassisted quit attempt. There were 2 general EMA assessment intervals: prequit (1 week) and postquit (2 weeks). Participants reported every time that they smoked a cigarette and at random, nonsmoking times; in each assessment, participants responded to questions about their current environment, behaviors, and psychological state. A 3-month follow-up assessed longer-term smoking-related outcomes.

Consistent with other adolescent research, the overall rate of lapsing was very high (93%). Social lapsing rates were likewise high (among those who lapsed, 73% reported their first lapse was social), but they also varied continuously across individuals. We computed a social lapsing coefficient for each youth and found that it related to smoking factors at baseline (e.g., lower smoking intensity and dependence) and follow-up (e.g., lower cotinine levels).

These results suggest that higher rates of social lapsing are associated with being a lighter, less dependent smoker and having better eventual cessation prospects. Findings provide evidence that accounting for variability in social lapsing may improve theory and treatment.