Attentional bias predicts outcome in smoking cessation.

Most attempts to quit smoking end in failure, with many quitters relapsing in the first few days. Responses to smoking-related cues may precipitate relapse. A modified emotional Stroop task-which measures the extent to which smoking-related words disrupt performance on a reaction time (RT) task-was used to index the distracting effects of smoking-related cues. Smokers (N = 158) randomized to a high-dose nicotine patch (35 mg) or placebo patch completed the Stroop task on the 1st day of a quit attempt. Smokers using an active patch exhibited less attentional bias, making fewer errors on smoking-related words. Smokers who showed greater attentional bias (slowed RT on the first block of smoking words) were significantly more likely to lapse in the short-term, even when controlling for self-reported urges at the test session. Attentional bias measures may tap an important component of dependence.     

Baseline reaction time predicts 12-month smoking cessation outcome in formerly depressed smokers.

Burgeoning evidence points to a positive association between cigarette smoking and depression. Moreover, depressive symptomatology, whether historical, current, or subsyndromal, appears to negatively influence smoking cessation efforts. Whereas depression is typically assessed via clinical interview or self-report, rarely are the known neurocognitive deficits linked to depression (e.g., global slowing) assessed in the context of smoking cessation research. Hence, this study examined whether simple reaction time -- color naming of affectively neutral words -- is predictive of 12-month smoking cessation outcome among a sample of formerly depressed smokers (N = 28). Results revealed a significant, positive correlation between reaction time and depressive symptoms such that those who exhibited slower reaction times were at heightened risk to relapse. Baseline depressive symptoms, as assessed via self-report, neither correlated with nor predicted smoking cessation outcome. Results from logistic regression analyses further showed that reaction time added incremental variance to the prediction of smoking cessation outcome. Therefore, simple reaction time may capture aspects of depression not typically assessed in self-report questionnaires. These results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and clinical implications for smoking cessation research.     

Assessing outcome in smoking cessation studies.

Outcome measures for smoking cessation are reviewed and evaluated, including 3 self-report measures and 3 biochemical validation measures. Point prevalence reflects the percentage of participants taking action, prolonged abstinence reflects those in the maintenance stage, and continuous abstinence reflects those who progress from action to maintenance without lapsing or relapsing. Biochemical assessments are primarily measures of point prevalence abstinence. The desirability of biochemical validation is a particularly controversial and critical issue. Three factors affect the accuracy of self-report: Type of Population, Type of Intervention, and Demand Characteristics. False-negative rates are generally low. Three broad issues impact on decisions to use biochemical validation: (a) alternative explanations for false positives, (b) refusal rate problems, and (c) the effect of inaccuracy on intervention assessment.     

Gene-environment processes in task persistence

Task persistence is a construct that appears to have broad influence on child competence generally, from self regulation in carrying out tasks, to cognitive performance. In a recent developmental study of task persistence, Deater-Deckard and colleagues report that heritability of task persistence increased over time, whereas the contribution from the shared environment decreased during the transition from early to middle childhood. Two explanations for the developmental shift are discussed here: a choice hypothesis and a schooling hypothesis. An important next step lies in documenting gene-environment processes directly via hybrid research models, combining work in molecular biology with longitudinal observations of behavior.     

助推戒烟的行为干预策略

烟草危害是人类所面临的重大公共健康挑战之一。传统的控烟策略主要依赖健康宣教、烟草税和控烟条例等手段,但是较少考虑到吸烟行为的“非理性因素”及其心理机制,因此仍不能有效帮助吸烟者成功戒烟。行为科学的发展为助推吸烟者成功戒烟提供了新视角。以实施主体和干预的影响机制为划分标准,可将助推戒烟的行为干预策略分为由政府和公共健康服务部门执行的情境型干预策略和认知型干预策略以及吸烟者可自主执行的情境型和认知型干预策略,一方面便于吸烟者和相关部门选取可执行的戒烟行为干预策略,另一方面为进一步开发和验证助推戒烟的行为干预策略提供参考。虽然基于行为科学的助推干预策略已经取得了一定的进展,未来研究仍有必要进一步在真实世界中验证和评估戒烟助推干预策略的效果。未来也有必要进一步将行为改变技术融入到数字化的戒烟服务或应用小程序中去以提升其效果。未来也需要考察如何应用戒烟助推干预策略防止电子烟产品的负面影响并减少这类策略的误用和滥用。     

Facilitating autonomous motivation for smoking cessation.

Physicians used either an autonomy-supportive or a controlling interpersonal style to counsel smokers based on National Cancer Institute guidelines. Physician autonomy support was rated from audiotapes, and patients' perceived competence and autonomous motivation for quitting were self-reported on questionnaires. Validated point prevalences for 6, 12, and 30 months and for continuous cessation were examined. The intervention did not have a direct effect on quit rates; however, structural equation modeling supported the self-determination process model of smoking cessation. The model indicated that the autonomy-supportive intervention was rated as more autonomy supportive, that rated autonomy support predicted autonomous motivation, and that autonomous motivation predicted cessation at all points in time. Perceived competence contributed independent variance to cessation only at 6 months.     

The effects of beliefs about smoking and health on smoking cessation

The purpose of this study was to examine whether beliefs of an American sample about smoking and health, as defined by cognitive orientation theory, would determine those smoking cessation program participants who would become abstainers and those who would not. Although the smoking cessation program was not designed to influence the specific kinds of beliefs studied, subscales measuring two of the four types of beliefs differentiated participants who would become abstainers from those who would not. Abstainers tended to have stronger goal beliefs about their desire to quit smoking, and stronger beliefs about the health-related implications of smoking. Participants' beliefs that they could resist an urge to smoke, which implied the use of coping skills, were more important in determining who would abstain from smoking than was their confidence that they could quit smoking, which implied the use of willpower.     

Facets of the NEO-PI-R and smoking cessation

Knowing more about the personality of smokers may help to increase the effectiveness of smoking cessation treatments and can contribute to relapse prevention. The aim of the present study was to analyze the influence of 30 specific facets of the Five-Factor Model of personality on the outcomes at the end of treatment and at 12-month follow-up, in a sample of 281 smokers seeking psychological treatment to stop smoking. Personality facets were assessed with the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R). Results showed that nicotine dependence and several facets of personality (Self-discipline, Depression, Aesthetics, Trust, and Modesty) contribute to explain short- and long-term outcomes after smoking cessation. These findings support the need of integrate information about individual smoker’s personality facets into smoking cessation programs.     

Evidence for clinical smoking cessation for adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: This report reviews the evidence that informs the role of health and mental health care providers in addressing youth smoking cessation. DESIGN: Qualitative literature review. RESULTS: Physicians do not consistently screen adolescents for tobacco use and fail to provide recommended cessation advice. Challenges to addressing smoking cessation include the need for procedures to ensure confidentiality and the existence of competing demands to provide other services. Few published studies have specifically addressed the effectiveness of clinical interventions. Interventions that require return visits or follow-up phone contacts are technically difficult to implement in this population. Successful interventions may require resources not available in nonresearch settings. Most studies have used brief clinical intervention as a control condition, making it impossible to evaluate its effectiveness. CONCLUSION: There is little evidence that supports current clinical smoking cessation guidelines for adolescents. More research is needed to develop inexpensive, efficient clinical interventions that can provide youths access to smoking cessation help. Future challenges include reorganizing clinical systems to offer greater counseling by support staff or in electronic formats and to provide effective booster messages and follow-up care in a population that is difficult to track.     

A longitudinal behavioral genetic analysis of task persistence

Change in task persistence was assessed in two annual assessments using teachers', testers', and observers' ratings. Participants included 79 monozygotic and 116 same-sex dizygotic twin pairs who were in Kindergarten or 1st grade (4.3 to 7.9 years old) at the initial assessment. Task persistence was widely distributed and higher among older children and girls. Overall, there was modest growth in persistence over time, and moderate stability of individual differences. Most of the stability was accounted for by genetic influences, whereas most of the change was accounted for by nonshared environment, including an association with observed differential maternal warm supportive behavior.     

Patterns of self-initiated smoking cessation among young adults

Prochaska and DiClemente's (1984) cyclic-stage model of self-initiated smoking cessation divides the cessation process into five stages. This model was applied to a young adult population to determine the cross-sectional distribution of stages and the frequency and pattern of changes among stages over time. Compared to older adults, the distribution of the stages differed substantially: There were twice as many relapsers and only half as many maintainers among young adults. One-year changes in stages were examined using a static model, which did not take into account the cyclic nature of the change process, and a more realistic dynamic model, which did. Both models, especially the dynamic model, suggested substantially more movement among stages in younger than in older adults.     

Current task activation predicts general effects of advance preparation in task switching

Two experiments investigated the way that beforehand preparation influences general task execution in reaction-time matching tasks. Response times (RTs) and error rates were measured for switching and nonswitching conditions in a color- and shape-matching task. The task blocks could repeat (task repetition) or alternate (task switch), and the preparation interval (PI) was manipulated within-subjects (Experiment 1) and between-subjects (Experiment 2). The study illustrated a comparable general task performance after a long PI for both experiments, within and between PI madipulations. After a short PI, however, the general task performance increased significantly for the between-subjects manipulation of the PI. Furthermore, both experiments demonstrated an analogous preparation effect for both task switching and task repetitions. Next, a consistent switch cost throughout the whole run of trials and a within-run slowing effect were observed in both experiments. Altogether, the present study implies that the effects of the advance preparation go beyond the first trials and confirms different points of the activation approach (Altmann, 2002) to task switching.     

The effects of four outcome schedules on persistence,liking for the task,and attributions of causality1

Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four schedules of outcomes on a problem solving task ascending, descending, constant success, and constant failure As predicted by White's theory of competence motivation, constant success subjects showed a sharp drop in desire to persist over time, interpreted as satiation of competence motivation Ascending subjects showed significantly more persistence than constant success subjects, with descending and constant failure subjects falling between these two conditions No differences on the final measure were found among conditions for liking for the task and attributions of causality, although significant differences between ascending and descending subjects were obtained on the difference scores, with ascending subjects showing more positive change than descending m liking and internal causality, from the first to the second measure     

Sex differences in predictors of adolescent smoking cessation.

Sex differences in predictors of smoking cessation were investigated among 337 male and 490 female participants in the RAND adolescent panel study. Participants reported smoking at least 11-20 times during the past year at Grade 10, with cessation defined as not smoking during the past year at Grade 12. Controlling for demographics, sex-specific analyses indicated that girls who quit smoking within 2 years had friends who smoked less frequently, perceived less parental approval of their smoking, had weaker intentions to continue smoking, used marijuana less frequently, attended fewer different schools, were more likely to have an intact nuclear family, experienced greater peer support, and rated themselves as healthier. Similar analyses for boys yielded results that were generally weaker and nonsignificant, with smoking quantity accounting for several associations in the sex-specific models. Despite these differences, interaction tests revealed significant sex differences for only three predictors. Implications of these results for understanding adolescent smoking cessation are discussed.     

Age and pre quit-day attrition during smoking cessation treatment

ABSTRACT

The present study aimed to replicate the finding that younger age predicts higher pre quit-day attrition. Our second aim was to explain this relation by examining empirically and theoretically informed age-related risk factors for low smoking cessation treatment engagement. 136 participants (M _age = 44.2 years, SD = 11.3 years; age = 22–64 years) were randomized to 15-weeks of either 1) an exercise intervention (n = 72) or 2) a wellness education control condition (n = 64). First, a logistic regression analysis was employed to test whether younger adults were more likely than older adults to drop prior to quit date. Next, we assessed whether smoking related health concerns, social expectancies, and/or perceived severity of craving affected the strength of the relation between age and attrition, by adding these three variables to the logistic regression along with age. The logistic regression model indicated that younger age and treatment condition were significantly related to the odds of dropping from treatment prior to the scheduled quit date. Further, health concerns, social expectancies, and/or perceived severity of cravings did not account for the effect of age on pre quit-day attrition. These findings highlight the importance of identifying empirically and theoretically informed variables associated with the pre quit-day attrition problem of young smokers.