SPECIFICATION OF A SOCIAL COGNITIVE MODEL PREDICTING SMOKING CESSATION IN A MEXICAN-AMERICAN POPULATION - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY

The stages-of-change model for smoking cessation was specified using interview and biochemical data from a sample of Mexican-American smokers in south Texas. Factor analysis of items measuring the processes of change for smoking indicated the stability of the structure of these constructs for this population. The scales discriminated among groups of smokers with different intentions toward smoking cessation. Intention to change was predictive of cessation category 1 to 2 years later and mediated the influences of three process-ofchange cognitions on behavior. Number of years of smoking was independently negatively related and age was positively related to cessation category. Our findings for Mexican-Americans showed that the stages and processes of change are generalizable to this population and that they predict cessation behavior prospectively. © 1990 Plenum Publishing Corporation.