Motivational Interviewing on Smoking Cessation Decisions of University Students in Türkiye: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The study aims to examine the effect of the motivational interviewing intervention on smoking cessation decisions among university students in Türkiye. The study was conducted with the participation of 64 first year university students (experimental group 32, control group 32) who were smokers and wanted to quit. Motivational interviews were completed with students in the experimental group based on quitting smok ing (first interview, first month, and third month). Data collection comprised the first interview and the interviews on the first, third, and sixth months, performed on the experimental and control groups using five scales. The team determined that the smoking cessation rate of the students in the experimental group (37.6%) was four times higher than that of the control group (9.4%). A significant difference was found when comparing the smoking cessation status of students according to the follow-ups in the experimental and control groups. In the study, students in the experimental group progressed toward moving to the next stage in the stages of behavior change, aiming at smoking cessation. In contrast, in the control group, there were reversals. Motivational interviewing increases students’ smoking cessation rates and provides positive progress in the stages of behavior change, aiming at smoking cessation.

Cite this article as: Dereli, F., & Yildirim, B. (2025). Motivational interviewing on smoking cessation decisions of university students in Türkiye: A randomized controlled trial. Addicta: The Turkish Journal on Addictions, Published online November 7, 2025. doi:10.5152/ADDICTA.2025.25365.