Participating in Health Issue-Specific Social Networking Sites to Quit Smoking: How Does Online Social Interconnectedness Influence Smoking Cessation Self-Efficacy?

This study examined members of health issue-specific social networking sites (SNSs) for smoking cessation, hypothesizing that social identification, bridging and bonding social capital, perceived subjective norms, and social support would impact the relationship between participation and smoking cessation self-efficacy. Results (N=252) of an online questionnaire revealed that participation significantly influenced each social factor, which in turn resulted in greater smoking cessation self-efficacy. By applying and extending traditional peer influence theories, a structural model predicting 5 underlying mechanisms of social interconnectedness that influence perceived behavioral control for quitting smoking was tested and supported. Implications for future research on health issue-specific SNSs are discussed.