Treatment attrition: Associations with negative affect smoking motives and barriers to quitting among treatment-seeking smokers

•Motivation to smoke to reduce negative affect was associated with treatment initiation.•Motivation to smoke to reduce negative affect was associated with perceived barriers to cessation.•Potential utility in addressing motives to smoke for negative affect reduction during early stages of quitting

IntroductionPre-treatment attrition and perceived barriers for quitting are clinically important processes involved in early phases of quitting smoking. However, less is known about the constructs that may contribute to these processes such as negative affect reduction smoking motives.MethodThe current study sought to evaluate the relation between negative affect reduction smoking motives and pre-treatment attrition and perceived barriers for quitting in a sample of 425 treatment-seeking smokers (48.5% female; Mage = 37.69 years; SD = 13.61) enrolled in a smoking cessation study examining the efficacy of a transdiagnostic panic-smoking cessation treatment relative to a standard smoking cessation treatment.ResultsResults indicated that greater negative affect reduction smoking motives was associated with an increased likelihood of treatment initiation (odds ratio = 1.49, CI: 1.09, 2.04). Additionally, negative affect reduction smoking motives was associated with greater perceived barriers for cessation among pre-treatment drop-outs and treatment initiators.ConclusionsThis initial investigation provides evidence for the possible clinical utility in addressing negative affect reduction smoking motives during early stages of quitting. Additionally, such findings could potentially inform the development of personalized, early stages of quitting interventions for smoking cessation.