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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2013 Oct;81(5):810-20.
doi: 10.1037/a0032952. Epub 2013 May 13.

Efficacy of an experiential, dissonance-based smoking intervention for college students delivered via the internet

Vani Nath Simmons  1 , Bryan W Heckman, Angelina C Fink, Brent J Small, Thomas H Brandon
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Efficacy of an experiential, dissonance-based smoking intervention for college students delivered via the internet

Vani Nath Simmons et al. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2013 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: College represents a window of opportunity to reach the sizeable number of cigarette smokers who are vulnerable to lifelong smoking. The underutilization of typical cessation programs suggests the need for novel and more engaging approaches for reaching college smokers. The aim of the present study was to test the efficacy of a dissonance-enhancing, Web-based experiential intervention for increasing smoking cessation motivation and behavior.

Method: We used a 4-arm, randomized design to examine the efficacy of a Web-based, experiential smoking intervention (Web-Smoke). The control conditions included a didactic smoking intervention (Didactic), a group-based experiential intervention (Group), and a Web-based nutrition experiential intervention (Web-Nutrition). We recruited 341 college smokers. Primary outcomes were motivation to quit, assessed immediately postintervention, and smoking abstinence at 1 and 6 months following the intervention.

Results: As hypothesized, the Web-Smoke intervention was more effective than control groups in increasing motivation to quit. At 6-month follow-up, the Web-Smoke intervention produced higher rates of smoking cessation than the Web-Nutrition control intervention. Daily smoking moderated intervention outcomes. Among daily smokers, the Web-Smoke intervention produced greater abstinence rates than both the Web-Nutrition and Didactic control conditions.

Conclusion: Findings demonstrate the efficacy of a theory-based intervention delivered over the Internet for increasing motivation to quit and smoking abstinence among college smokers. The intervention has potential for translation and implementation as a secondary prevention strategy for college-aged smokers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of participants in the study. *Students could have been surveyed more than once due to surveys being completed in different classes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Smoking abstinence rates at 1 month and 6 months for total sample (A) and at 6 months for daily smokers only (B). PP = point prevalence. *Comparison group was significantly different from the Web-Smoke intervention at p < .05.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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