Factors associated with the quitting intention among Chinese adults: Application of protection motivation theory

The main objective of this study was to examine the use of protection motivation theory (PMT) in explaining smokers' quitting intentions among Chinese adults with the goal of providing valuable evidence to promote theory-guided and culturally appropriate cessation interventions. This cross-sectional study included 613 participants randomly selected from 26 provinces in Mainland China. Cronbach's alpha and interclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were used to assess the reliability of individual PMT constructs. A multiple linear regression was used for the multivariable analysis. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the 23 items was 0.74. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of all the subscales varied from 0.71 to 0.74. Stronger quitting intentions were significantly associated with higher perceived vulnerability (Coef. = 0.13, P < 0.01), self-efficacy (Coef. = 0.28, P < 0.01), and response efficacy (Coef. = 0.23, P < 0.01) but inversely associated with intrinsic rewards (Coef. = -0.15, P < 0.01). Greater quitting intentions were significantly associated with higher threat (Coef. = 0.19, P < 0.01) and coping appraisals (Coef. = 0.25, P < 0.01). Regarding behaviour, longer quitting attempts were significantly associated only with self-efficacy (Coef. = 0.13, P < 0.01) and response cost (Coef. = -0.18, P < 0.01) Our results confirmed the applicability of PMT for predicting the quitting intention in Chinese adults. Self-efficacy is the only factor that has a predictive effect on both the intention and behaviour. To improve the effectiveness of smoking-cessation interventions, specific attention should be directed during their design to the more influential PMT constructs.

Automated summary

This study utilized the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) to examine the quitting intentions of Chinese adult smokers. Results showed that self-efficacy is the only factor that predicts both intention and behavior, emphasizing the need to focus on influential PMT constructs in smoking cessation interventions.