Predicting the tendency to smoke based on alexithymia mediated by risk perception

 Smoking is one of the serious health threats and one of the leading causes of death worldwide. This study aimed to predict the tendency to smoke based on alexithymia mediated by risk perception. The method of this study was descriptive and correlational. The study's statistical population included all employees of Tehran Municipality in 2019, from which 215 people were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling to participate in the study. The data collection tool included a questionnaire on the tendency to smoke salty cigarettes, Rajabi (2006) reported a Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of 0.83. Also, from the forum's high-risk events cognitive evaluation questionnaire with Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.78) (Baheiraei et al., 2012). And Taylor et al.'s emotional non-verbal questionnaire (1991) was used with its retest reliability ranging from r=0.80 to r=0.87 (Besharat, 2007).. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS-25 and Amos-22 and structural equations. According to the results, the proposed model for predicting smoking tendency based on alexithymia mediated by risk perception had a good fit. Risk perception played a minor mediating role in the relationship between alexithymia and smoking tendency. Based on the results of this study, it is possible to reduce the tendency to smoke by helping people overcome alexithymia and increase their perception of risk.