Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2017 Nov;85(11):1019-1028.
doi: 10.1037/ccp0000238.

Smokers who are unmotivated to quit and have a child with asthma are more likely to quit with intensive motivational interviewing and repeated biomarker feedback

Belinda Borrelli  1 , Romano Endrighi  1 , S Katharine Hammond  2 , Shira Dunsiger  3
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Smokers who are unmotivated to quit and have a child with asthma are more likely to quit with intensive motivational interviewing and repeated biomarker feedback

Belinda Borrelli et al. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2017 Nov.

Abstract

Objective: Smokers who are not motivated to quit are an important group for intervention, particularly if they have children with asthma. Research indicates that unmotivated smokers are less responsive to intensive interventions, although motivation-by-treatment interactions have not been tested. This study examines whether motivation to quit moderates the effect of a cessation induction intervention.

Method: Parents had an asthmatic child requiring urgent care, and did not have to want to quit smoking to be eligible for the study. Two home visits included asthma education, motivational interviewing (MI) for cessation, and feedback on child's secondhand smoke exposure (SHSe). Participants were then randomized (n = 339, 79.6% female) to receive Enhanced-PAM (Precaution Adoption Model; 6 MI calls including SHSe feedback) or PAM (6 contact control calls). Motivation to quit was assessed at baseline and point-prevalence abstinence (ppa) and SHSe outcomes were objectively measured.

Results: At baseline, 38.9% were not motivated to quit. Those who were not motivated to quit were 3 to 4 times more likely to be abstinent at 6 months in Enhanced-PAM versus PAM (7-day ppa: OR = 3.71, 95% CI = [1.06, 12.99]; 30-day: OR = 4.15, 95% CI [1.20, 14.35]); those receiving Enhanced-PAM achieved quit rates comparable to motivated smokers. Those who were not motivated to quit were more than 4 times as likely to have very low/undetectable SHSe at follow-up in Enhanced-PAM versus PAM (OR = 4.46, 95% CI [1.31, 15.15]). Among motivated smokers, neither outcome significantly differed by treatment arm.

Conclusion: It cannot be assumed that smokers who are unmotivated to quit will not be responsive to intensive interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Participant recruitment flowchart
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abrams DB, Niaura R, Brown RA, Emmons KM, Goldstain MG, Monti PM. The Tobacco Treatment Handbook: A Guide to Best Practices. New York: Guilford Press; 2003.
    1. Asfar T, Ebbert JO, Klesges RC, Relyea GE. Do smoking reduction interventions promote cessation in smokers not ready to quit? Addictive Behavior. 2011;36(7):764–768. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2011.02.003. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aveyard P, Lawrence T, Cheng KK, Griffin C, Croghan E, Johnson C. A randomized controlled trial of smoking cessation for pregnant women to test the effect of a transtheoretical model-based intervention on movement in stage and interaction with baseline stage. British Journal of Health Psychology. 2006;11:263–278. doi: 10.1348/135910705x52534. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bartlett YK, Borrelli B, Armitage CJ, Tooley E, Wearden A. Approaches used to quit smoking: Differences between smokers who are motivated to quit and those who are not motivated to quit. Paper to be presented at British Psychological Society, Division of Health Psychology Annual Conference; 16–18 September 2015; London: UK.
    1. Benowitz N, Jacob P. Biochemical verification of tobacco use and cessation. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2002;4(2):149–159. doi: 10.1080/14622200210123581. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types