Examining pathways between family or peer factors and smoking cessation in a nationally representative US sample of adults with mental health conditions who smoke: a structural equation analysis

BACKGROUND: Supportive family or peer behaviors positively impact smoking cessation in people with mental health problems who smoke. However, the limited understanding of the pathways through which family or peer factors impact quitting limits the development of effective support interventions. This study examined pathways through which family or peer views on tobacco use, family or peer smoking status, and rules against smoking in the home influenced quitting in adults with mental health problems who smoke. METHODS: We used data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study, a national longitudinal survey. Baseline data were collected in 2015, and follow-up data in 2016. We included adults’ current smokers who had experienced two or more mental health symptoms in the past year (unweighted n = 4201). Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships between family and peer factors, mediating factors, and smoking cessation. RESULTS: We found that having family or peers with negative views on tobacco use had a positive indirect effect on smoking cessation, mediated through the individual’s intention to quit (regression coefficient: 0.19) and the use of evidence-based approaches during their past year quit attempt (regression coefficient: 0.32). Having rules against smoking in the home (regression coefficient: 0.33) and having non-smoking family members or peers (regression coefficient: 0.11) had a positive indirect effect on smoking cessation, mediated through smoking behaviors (regression coefficient: 0.36). All paths were statistically significant (p < 0.01). The model explained 20% of the variability in smoking outcomes. CONCLUSION: Family or peer-based cessation interventions that systematically increase intentions to quit and monitor smoking behavior may be able to assess the efficacy of family and peer support on quitting in people with mental health problems who smoke. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-13979-z.