Mental Toughness Changes Among Smokers: A Case-control Study

Smoking is one of the biggest challenges in human life today. Stress or negative emotions have a significant impact on smokers. Moreover, mental toughness is a psychological characteristic that enables people to cope with emotional pressure. Therefore, in the present study, changes in mental toughness among smokers were investigated.

This questionnaire-based case-control study was conducted on 212 smokers and 295 non-smokers using standard questionnaires. The Mental Toughness Questionnaire with 48 items (MTQ-48) and the Fagerstrom test with 6 items were used to assess mental toughness and nicotine dependence, respectively. Mental toughness consists of 4 components: commitment, challenge, trust, and control. Both paper and online questionnaires were used. The study population was randomly selected from across the country between July and August 2021. All results were self-reported and the accuracy of the collected data was not verified.

A total of 469 subjects, including 197 smokers and 272 non-smokers, were included in the study. Statistical analysis revealed that the mean scores of the challenge, life and emotional control, and self-confidence scales differed statically between the two groups of smokers and non-smokers (P < 0.0.5). In addition, there was a statically significant difference between female smokers and non-smokers only in life and emotional control (P < 0.0.5). We also found a statically significant difference in the total mental toughness score between the two groups (P < 0.0.5).

It seems that mental toughness decreases significantly in smokers and this can be considered as one of the potential causes of the increased tendency to smoke.