{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T12:36:14Z","timestamp":1777898174043,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,5]],"date-time":"2025-05-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1746403200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"funder":[{"name":"pilot grant from the University of Alabama at Birmingham O\u2019Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Psychol Rep"],"abstract":"<jats:p>U.S. rural counties have been shown to demonstrate higher rates of tobacco use, however, there is limited understanding concerning protective factors that may decrease the likelihood of tobacco use in these settings. The increased presence of the sense that one\u2019s life is meaningful has been found to be associated with engagement in health behaviors, including refraining from tobacco use. However, comprehensive population-based assessments are required to examine the association between meaning in life and tobacco abstinence. This is especially pertinent among sub-populations that are underrepresented in research, including Black and White rural residents. The purpose of this study was to examine if increased meaning in life would be associated with current tobacco abstinence among residents of rural Alabama. A population-based in-person survey was administered to 268 adults representing all census tracts within a rural Alabama county. Participants were provided a comprehensive list of tobacco products with product photos and queried about use, including use within the previous 30 days. Meaning in life was measured using the 10-item Meaning in Life Questionnaire. Increased meaning in life was associated with a greater likelihood of current abstinence from tobacco products while controlling for multiple demographic variables including sex, age, race, and educational attainment. This study identified meaning in life as a potential protective factor against current tobacco use that may generalize beyond rural settings. This finding has relevant research and public health implications within rural settings, providing preliminary evidence that this understudied construct may play an important role in protecting rural residents from engagement in an addictive behavior. Further research is needed to elucidate mechanisms that may underlie the protective capacity of meaning in life to inform interventions to boost this construct.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/00332941251340313","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,5]],"date-time":"2025-05-05T18:21:29Z","timestamp":1746469289000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Meaning in Life as a Potential Protective Factor for Tobacco Abstinence Among Adult Rural Residents: A Pilot Study in Alabama"],"prefix":"10.1177","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5039-6849","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kevin R.","family":"Madden","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Karen L.","family":"Cropsey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Norma","family":"Longinos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Amit","family":"Gaggar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Peter S.","family":"Hendricks","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Isabel C.","family":"Scarinci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_4_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/add.12621"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/jrh.12194"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/ntr\/ntp081"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amepre.2014.09.021"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/PSY.0000000000000274"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2020.00327"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jadohealth.2022.09.021"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ypmed.2017.03.011"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.puhe.2015.04.001"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/ejihpe13060071"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_12_1","unstructured":"Economic Research Service US Department of Agriculture. Rural Urban Continuum Codes. (2020). https:\/\/www.ers.usda.gov\/data-products\/rural-urban-continuum-codes.aspx. Accessed August 24 2022."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1300\/J233v04n03_01"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jadohealth.2010.09.011"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/10508619.2010.481225"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_16_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/gpr0000115"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/ntr\/ntac098"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/10826080802495096"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/ntr\/nty185"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0890117121995736"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1440-1819.2007.01779.x"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/19371918.2017.1289872"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10903-020-01015-4"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_24_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.healthplace.2016.04.001"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ypmed.2020.106239"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11482-013-9288-9"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.57.6.1069"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_28_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1022691212793"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_29_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10552-022-01576-9"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_30_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.14423\/SMJ.0000000000001415"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_31_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18126380"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_32_1","first-page":"679","volume-title":"Oxford handbook of positive psychology","author":"Steger M. F.","year":"2021","unstructured":"Steger M. F. (2021). Meaning in life: A unified model. In Snyder C. R., Lopez S. J., Edwards L. M., Marques S. C. (Eds.), Oxford handbook of positive psychology (3rd ed., pp. 679\u2013688). Oxford University Press.","edition":"3"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_33_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-0167.53.1.80"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_34_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-6494.2007.00484.x"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_35_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/17439760.2011.569171"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_36_1","volume-title":"International forum for logotherapy","author":"Steger M. F.","year":"2010","unstructured":"Steger M. F., Shin J. Y. (2010). The relevance of the meaning in life questionnaire to therapeutic practice: A look at the initial evidence. In International forum for logotherapy. Viktor Frankl Inst of Logotherapy."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_37_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.2020-048066"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_38_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.18865\/ed.31.2.263"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_39_1","unstructured":"United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Food and Drug Administration. & Center for Tobacco Products. (2024). Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study [United States] restricted-use files. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3886\/ICPSR36231"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_40_1","volume-title":"Marengo county, Alabama","author":"U.S. Census Bureau","year":"2022","unstructured":"U.S. Census Bureau. (2022). Marengo county, Alabama. U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved February 14, 2023. https:\/\/www.census.gov\/quickfacts\/marengocountyalabama#"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_41_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/17439760.2021.1871945"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_42_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1158\/1055-9965.EPI-17-0430"}],"container-title":["Psychological Reports"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/00332941251340313","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/00332941251340313","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/00332941251340313","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,1]],"date-time":"2026-05-01T09:22:44Z","timestamp":1777627364000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/00332941251340313"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,5]]},"references-count":41,"alternative-id":["10.1177\/00332941251340313"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/00332941251340313","relation":{},"ISSN":["0033-2941","1558-691X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0033-2941","type":"print"},{"value":"1558-691X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,5]]},"article-number":"00332941251340313"}}