One month after their quit date, 221 Ss completed a shortened Partner Interaction Questionnaire (PIQ) in which they reported the frequency of 10 positive and 10 negative behaviors performed by a spouse or romantic partner in response to their quitting attempt. A subset, using the same instrument, reported expectations of support prior to quitting. The ratio of received positive/negative behaviors was a consistently better predictor of abstinence than were the frequencies of either positive or

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... gative behavior alone, with higher ratios associated with abstinence. In addition, partners were less interactive than expected but performed more positive behaviors than expected. The overall pattern of results suggests that the context of a relationship mediates the impact of specific supportive or nonsupportive behaviors. Psychometrics for the 20-item PIQ are presented. A number of studies have found that persons whose partners reportedly supported their efforts to quit smoking were more likely to quit smoking and maintain abstinence (e.g., Cohen et al.what kinds of partner behaviors are helpful to quitters and what kinds are harmful. This lack of information about mediating behaviors may be responsible, in part, for the ineffectiveness of interventions designed to facilitate spouse/partner support for quitting smoking (see recent reviews by Cohen et al., 1988, and Lichtenstein, Glasgow, & Abrams, 1986) . This study is concerned with identifying the nature of partner behaviors that actually support quitting and maintenance of abstinence. In addressing this question, we developed a short (20item) version of the Partner Interaction Questionnaire (PIQ-20) that includes separate subscales assessing positive and negative behaviors provided by a spouse or romantic partner, close friend, or family member.