Smoking self-concept moderates the effects of selfaffirmation on smoking-related beliefs and behavioral intentions.

Objective: Smoking stigmatization has been shown to hinder cigarette smoking cessation, especially among individuals with a strong smoker identity. Self-affirmation, a psychological threat-management coping strategy, can promote smoking cessation, and may mitigate the adverse consequences of stigmatization. Design: Data from an online sample of 1,020 U.S. adult smokers were analyzed using multiple linear regression. Main Outcome Measures: Participants completed a self-affirmation (or no-affirmation control) writing task before viewing a smoking stigma (or non-stigma control) anti-smoking public service announcement video. Participants then reported smoking-related cognitions and behavioral intentions. Results: Among participants with strong--but not weak--ties to a smoker identity (smoking self-concept), self-affirming led to higher quit intentions compared to the control condition. Among participants with weak--but not strong--smoking self-concepts, those who self-affirmed had lower intentions to switch completely to e-cigarettes relative to the control condition. Exposure to stigmatization reduced intentions to seek cessation counseling, particularly among those with weak smoking self-concepts. Conclusion: Findings demonstrate the critical role that smoking identity centrality plays in moderating reactions to both affirming and stigmatizing stimuli. Additional research is needed to better understand how self-affirmation and stigma-reduction interventions can be tailored and implemented in natural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]