Does personality profile affect the intention to quit smoking? Evidence from the HAPA model

The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA; Schwarzer, 1992) is one of the most widely used model to investigate the adoption and maintenance of health behaviors. The present study aimed to investigate whether the personality profile could affect the preintentional stage of the HAPA in a population of young daily smokers (N=287). The questionnaire was composed of the Big Five Adjectives Scale (BFA) and of scales to measure risk perception (RP), action self-efficacy (ASE), outcome expectancies (OE), and intention to change behavior. A cluster analysis was performed to identify personality profiles. Profiles were then set as cluster variable in a mixed model. Nine personality profiles were identified. The final mixed model included random effects for intercept, RP, and ASE. Results indicated that: resilient profiles had the largest positive effects of both RP and ASE on intention, whereas these constructs did not affect the intention to quit smoking for overcontrolled people; undercontrolled profile showed a positive effect of ASE but not of RP. Findings suggest the importance to consider personality traits in the HAPA in order to improve interventions to help people quit smoking.