Coping mechanisms actually and hypothetically used by pregnant and non-pregnant women in quitting smoking

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to investigate how pregnant and non-pregnant women use various coping techniques when attempting to refrain from smoking. Eighty women with subgroups formed by the variables of pregnant/not pregnant and quitting/not quitting smoking were studied over a 2-week period. The general strategy was to follow smokers who had stated an intention to quit smoking. Smokers, pregnant and non-pregnant, who did not intend to quit were also followed with respect to the coping techniques they would hypothetically be using if they were trying to quit. Pregnant women used coping strategies more often than non-pregnant women. Differences found between pregnant and non-pregnant women were evenly distributed for behavioral and cognitive methods. The goal of becoming a non-smoker, especially during pregnancy, needs to be addressed to include psychological and physical factors. In these efforts, the framework introduced by the study involving a time-related approach could be useful.