Smoking expectancies and intention to quit in smokers with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and non-psychiatric controls

Cigarette smoking expectancies are systematically related to intention to quit smoking in adult smokers without psychiatric illness, but little is known about these relationships in smokers with serious mental illness. In this study, we compared positive and negative smoking expectancies, and examined relationships between expectancies and intention to quit smoking, in smokers with schizophrenia (n = 46), smokers with schizoaffective disorder (n = 35), and smokers without psychiatric illness (n = 71). In all three groups, reduction of negative affect was rated as the most important smoking expectancy and intention to quit smoking was systematically related to concerns about the health effects and social consequences of smoking. Compared to the other groups of smokers, those with schizoaffective disorder were more concerned with social expectancies and with the immediate negative physical effects of smoking. Results of this study suggest that challenging positive smoking expectancies and providing more tailored information about the negative consequences of smoking might increase motivation to quit smoking in smokers with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, as has been found with non-psychiatric smokers.