Cigarette smoking motives: factorial structure and gender differences in a longitudinal study

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Behavioral Science
• Addiction Research

Background:

• The Horn-Waingrow Smoking Survey is a key tool for understanding cigarette smoking motives.
• Previous research indicates a stable factor structure for smoking motives across diverse samples and over time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the replicability of six established Horn-Waingrow smoking motive factors.
• To investigate gender and psychosocial differences in smoking motives.

Main Methods:

• Principal component analyses were used to examine the factor structure.
• Data were collected from 109 participants across three longitudinal studies.
• Analyses were conducted separately for male and female participants.

Main Results:

• The six commonly found Horn-Waingrow factors were replicated exactly, with identical structures for both genders.
• Significant gender differences were observed for 'Reduction of Negative Affect' and 'Pleasure' motives, with women scoring higher.
• Differences in motives were also found between current and former smokers, and between smokers with and without smoking spouses.

Conclusions:

• The factorial structure of smoking motives is highly replicable across genders and in longitudinal data.
• Gender, smoking status, and spouse's smoking behavior are associated with distinct smoking motive profiles.