Depression and smoking cessation: The role of motivation and self-efficacy

The aim of this paper is to examine whether depression, assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory, is related to smoking cessation motivation and s elf-efficacy. In a population sample of 1,547 Finnish men and 1,856 Finnish women, aged between 25-64 years, there were 34% male and 21% female curren t smokers. The current smokers had higher mean depression scores than forme r or never smokers. The higher depression scores were related to greater mo tivation to quit smoking among female smokers [OR = 1.51 (1.15-1.97)]. In a ddition, higher depression scores were related to lower smoking cessation s elf-efficacy, especially among male smokers [OR = .63 (.45-.90)]. Depressio n scores were not related to whether a smoker had had previous cessation at tempts. Our results suggest that depression is related to lower smoking ces sation self-efficacy while smokers with higher depression scores seem to be more motivated to quit smoking. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.