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Social Discounting and Cigarette Smoking During Pregnancy
Author(s) -
Bradstreet Matthew P.,
Higgins Stephen T.,
Heil Sarah H.,
Badger Gary J.,
Skelly Joan M.,
Lynch Mary Ellen,
Trayah Molly C.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of behavioral decision making
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1099-0771
pISSN - 0894-3257
DOI - 10.1002/bdm.750
Subject(s) - discounting , psychology , delay discounting , smoking cessation , generosity , pregnancy , social psychology , demography , cohort , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , medicine , impulsivity , economics , philosophy , theology , finance , pathology , sociology , biology , genetics
In this study, we examined the association between social discounting and smoking status in a cohort of pregnant cigarette smokers ( n = 91), quitters ( n = 27), or never‐smokers ( n = 30). The smokers and quitters were participants in clinical trials on smoking cessation and relapse prevention, whereas the never‐smokers were controls in a study on nicotine withdrawal during pregnancy. Social discounting was assessed using a paper‐and‐pencil task that assesses the amount of hypothetical money a person is willing to forgo in order to share with individuals in their social network ranging from the person who is emotionally closest to them to a mere acquaintance. The amount that women were willing to forgo in order to share decreased hyperbolically as a function of social distance, with smokers exhibiting steeper discounting functions (i.e., less generosity) than quitters or never‐smokers; discounting functions of quitters and never‐smokers did not differ significantly. In multivariate analyses controlling for potential sociodemographic and other confounds, social discounting remained a significant predictor of smoking status among smokers versus quitters. Overall, these results suggest that individual differences in social discounting may be a factor influencing the choices that women make about quitting smoking upon learning of a pregnancy. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.