Effects of fun-seeking and external locus of control on smoking behaviour: a cross-sectional analysis on a cohort of working men in Singapore

Objectives We examined the combined effects of behavioural inhibition and behavioural activation, on one hand, and locus of control, on the other hand, on different categories of smoking behaviour (non-smoking, ex-smoking, occasional smoking, daily smoking). Design This study adopted a cross-sectional design. Participants completed questionnaires regarding demographics, smoking patterns, behavioural inhibition/behavioural activation systems and locus of control. Setting The study was conducted across four companies from the transportation, cooling plant and education sectors in Singapore. Participants Three hundred sixty-nine male working adults were included in the final sample. Results Corroborating previous research, a logistic regression model examining behavioural inhibition/behavioural activation systems revealed that the fun-seeking aspect of behavioural activation was a unique predictor in distinguishing non-smokers from daily smokers (OR=1.24, p=0.012). By contrast, in a separate model examining locus of control, external locus of control was found to be a unique predictor in distinguishing non-smokers from daily smokers (OR=1.13, p<0.001). In addition, a third model combining both behavioural inhibition/behavioural activation systems and locus of control found that only external locus of control remained a significant predictor (OR=1.12, p<0.001). Further analyses revealed a mediating effect of external locus of control on the relationship between fun-seeking and smoking behaviour. That is, the increase in the odds of daily smoking due to fun-seeking was explained by external locus of control (direct pathway OR=1.20, p=0.058; indirect pathway OR=1.04, p<0.050). Conclusions Overall, fun-seeking through its influence on external locus of control indirectly affects daily smoking behaviour, suggesting a more complex relationship than shown in previous research.