Cigarette smoking among young adults: Integrating adolescent cognitive egocentrism with the trans-theoretical model

Personal fable aspects of adolescent cognitive egocentrism reflected in individuals’ beliefs of omnipotence, invulnerability, and uniqueness, were examined in relation to cigarette smoking and stage of change status. A component of the Trans- Theoretical Model (TTM) of behaviour change, the stages of change maintain that current smokers consist of two groups – those who prefer to disregard the disincentives of smoking (pre-contemplators) and those who recognise these disincentives (contemplators). A Stages of Change Scale and the New Personal Fable Scale (NPFS) were administered to 249 university students aged 17 to 25 (M¼19.09 years, SD¼2.00). Pre-contemplative smokers had higher scores on the omnipotence subscale of the NPFS than contemplative smokers, suggesting that this personal fable could obstruct forward stage of change movement. Ex-smokers also had higher scores on the omnipotence and invulnerability subscales of the NPFS than individuals who have never smoked. Together, the findings suggest personal fable ideation is a salient smoking cessation variable and current conceptualisations of this construct need to be re-examined. Further, these results might explain the ineffectiveness of interventions underpinned by the TTM among adolescents. To extend the findings, prospective research is recommended.