Secondhand Smoke Risk Communication: Effects on Parent Smokers’ Perceptions and Intentions

Abstract

This study examined effective strategies to communicate with parent smokers about the risks of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure to children. An online, between-subjects experimental survey was administered via TurkPrime Panels to recruit participants (N = 623) comprising adult smokers living with children (aged 0–15). Participants were assigned to messages conditions that differed by message recommendation (cessation; cessation+exposure reduction) and format (video; text-only) or to a no-message control. Participants in a message condition viewed a message, and all participants responded to questions about their perceptions and intentions. Parent smokers who viewed either message recommendation reported greater harm perceptions (p <.001), self-efficacy (p <.001), and help-seeking intentions (p <.05) than the no-message control group. Cessation+exposure reduction recommendations elicited greater quit intentions than the no-message control (p <.05). Compared to text-only, videos elicited greater reduce-exposure intentions (p <.05) and interpersonal communication intentions (p <.05). Only videos elicited greater quit intentions (p <.01) and help-seeking intentions (p <.01) than the no-message control. Communication about this topic can be optimized by recommending both cessation and exposure-reduction behaviors (versus cessation only), and by using videos (versus traditional print/text-based materials).

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge my colleagues at the Rutgers Center for Tobacco Studies for their feedback on the survey questionnaire. We recognize the production team at Nucleaus Medical Media, Inc. who produced the video stimuli used in this study; thank you for your professionalism and creativity. We are also grateful for the funders of this work, the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research (NJCCR), for supporting tobacco-related research in the social and behavioral sciences.

Declaration of Interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article to disclose.

Footnote

The corresponding author’s affiliation is now the Department of Pediatrics, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.

Additional information

Funding

All phases of this study were funded by the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research (NJCCR), [DFHS18PPC020].