Negative affect, message reactance and perceived risk: how do pictorial cigarette pack warnings change quit intentions?

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:Pictorial warnings on cigarette packs increase motivation to quit smoking. We sought to examine the potential mediating role of negative affect, message reactance (ie, an oppositional reaction to a message) and perceived risk in shaping quit intentions. METHODS:In 2014 and 2015, we randomly assigned 2149 adult US smokers to receive either pictorial warnings or text-only warnings applied to their cigarette packs for 4 weeks. Analyses used structural equation modelling with bootstrapped SEs to test our theorised mediational model. FINDINGS:Pictorial warnings increased negative affect, message reactance and quit intentions (all P<0.001), but not perceived risk (ie, perceived likelihood and severity of harms of smoking). Negative affect mediated the impact of pictorial warnings on qu

SUBMITTER: Hall MG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6004228 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature