COGNITIVE REACTIONS TO SMOKING RELAPSE - THE RECIPROCAL RELATION BETWEEN DISSONANCE AND SELF-ESTEEM

Perceptions of health risk associated with smoking, commitment to quit ting, and self-concept were assessed among smokers before, during,and after their participation In cessation clinics. Consistent with expect ations derived from cognitive dissonance theory, results indicated tha t relapsers' perception of risk declined after they resumed smoking, a lthough the decline was significant only for relapsers with high self- esteem; high self-esteem relapsers experienced a significantly greater decline in commitment to quitting than did low self-esteem relapsers; and decline in risk perception among relapsers was associated with ma intenance of self-esteem. The implications of these results for disson ance theory and the study of smoking relapse and cessation are discuss ed.