We expected that partners would exhibit some degree of similarity related to smoking beliefs as they were both current smokers and had been in a relationship for an extended period of time. Methods Participants We recruited 63 selleck chemicals llc dual-smoker couples (126 individuals) from the community in central North Carolina. To be eligible couples had to be in a committed relationship and live in the same household, and both members had to be more than 21 years old and smoke at least one cigarette per day. After 16 couples participated, the survey was expanded to include several additional items; therefore, analyses involving these items (e.g., perceived risk for partner) include 94 participants. Design Advertisements were put on Craigslist, in local newspapers, and circulated in the community to recruit couples in which both partners smoke for a study on thoughts about smoking cessation in couples.
In all, 130 persons responded to advertisements. Of these, 71 couples were screened and eligible (25 had partner not interested/able to be reached, 18 did not live with partner, 11 had participated in a previous study by our research team, and 5 did not meet other inclusion criteria). Both partners in 63 couples consented and participated in the 20-min survey. Participants received $10 for participation. Measures Perceived Risk for Self and Partner Participants rated the chance that they would get a serious smoking-related disease in their lifetime if they do not quit smoking (1 = no chance to 7 = certain to happen; Diefenbach, Weinstein, & O��Reilly, 1993).
Participants also rated the chance that their partner/spouse would get a serious smoking-related disease in their lifetime if their partner/spouse did not quit smoking. Damage to Health of Self and Partner In separate items, participants were asked to what extent, if at all, their own smoking has damaged their health and the health of their partner/spouse on 4-point scales (1 = not at all to 4 = a lot). Worry for Self and Partner Dijkstra and Brosschot��s (2003) 4-item self worry scale asked participants to rate the extent (1 = not at all to 5 = extremely) that they worry about their own health because of their own smoking. A separate 4-item scale asked about worry that one��s own smoking behavior affected one��s partner. Both self and partner worry scales exhibited good reliability (coefficient alphas = .
89 and .94, respectively). Desire to Quit for Self and Partner In separate items, participants were asked about the strength of their desire to stop smoking and for their partner to stop smoking at this time (1 = not at all strong Entinostat to 7 = extremely strong). Desire for Help From Partner in Quitting Participants were asked if they were to decide to quit smoking, how strong is their desire to have their partner help them quit (1 = not at all strong to 7 = extremely strong).