ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Nondaily smoking is a widespread, increasingly prevalent pattern of smoking, particularly in ethnic minority and vulnerable populations. To date, no effective treatment approach for this type of smokers has been identified. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to use a randomized controlled trial to evaluate proof-of-concept markers of the Smiling instead of Smoking (SiS) app, a smoking cessation smartphone app designed specifically for nondaily smokers. This app was developed iteratively and is now in its third version. Previous studies have demonstrated acceptability and feasibility when participants were onboarded in person (study 1) and remotely (study 2) and showed within-person changes in line with hypothesized mechanisms of change. This is the first randomized test of this app. METHODS: In total, 225 adult nondaily smokers will be asked to undertake a quit attempt while using smoking cessation support materials for a period of 7 weeks. Participants will be randomized to use the SiS smartphone app, the National Cancer Institute smartphone app QuitGuide, or the National Cancer Institute smoking cessation brochure "Clearing the Air." Participants will take part in a 15-minute scripted onboarding phone call during which study staff will introduce participants to their support materials. Survey links will be sent 2, 6, 12, and 24 weeks after the participants' initially chosen quit date. The primary outcome is self-efficacy to remain abstinent from smoking at treatment end, measured using the Smoking Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. Secondary outcomes cover several domains relevant to treatment development and implementation: treatment acceptability (eg, satisfaction with smoking cessation support, measured using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire, and app usability, measured using the System Usability Scale); treatment feasibility (eg, measured using the number of days participants used the SiS or QuitGuide app during the prescribed treatment period); and, in an exploratory way, treatment efficacy assessed using self-reported 30-day point prevalence abstinence. RESULTS: Recruitment began in January 2021 and ended June 2022. The final 24-week follow-up was completed in January 2023. This trial is funded by the American Cancer Society. CONCLUSIONS: This study is designed to test whether the prescribed use of the SiS app results in greater self-efficacy to abstain from smoking in nondaily smokers than commonly recommended alternative treatments and whether the SiS app treatment is acceptable and feasible. Positive results will mean that the SiS app warrants testing in a large-scale randomized controlled trial to test its effectiveness in supporting smoking cessation in nondaily smokers. The design of this study also provides insights into issues pertinent to smoking cessation smartphone app treatment development and implementation by measuring, in a randomized design, markers of treatment satisfaction, engagement with the technology and content of the treatment, and adherence to the treatment plan. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04672239; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04672239. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/40867.
ABSTRACT
This study examined the effects of three distinct interventions-self-efficacy, misperceptions, empathetic listening control-on college students' willingness to help a peer struggling with mental health issues. One hundred fifty college students (81 women, 67 men, 2 nonbinary) were randomly assigned to one of three intervention conditions. All three interventions contained information about the prevalence of mental health concerns among college students, symptoms of common mental health disorders, and exercises to increase participant engagement with the intervention content. Each intervention also contained a condition-specific component: self-efficacy, providing training in specific skills to intervene; misperceptions, correcting commonly held false beliefs about intervening; and empathetic listening control, providing steps for empathetic listening. All participants completed measures of attitudes and intentions toward bystander intervention immediately before the intervention and at a 3-month follow-up; they also completed measures assessing willingness to intervene at a posttest following the intervention. The results indicated that participants in the self-efficacy and misperceptions conditions reported less personal fear that intervening will hurt their relationship at follow-up than pretest. Moreover, groups of participants in the misperceptions condition reported a higher recognition of a need for action and higher moral courage at follow-up than at pretest. These findings suggest that brief online interventions focused on improving self-efficacy and correcting misperceptions about bystander intervention for mental health concerns can improve attitudes and characteristics that help college students intervene effectively. The discussion examines the implications of these findings for addressing the college mental health crisis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
Subject(s)
Mental Health , Students , Male , Humans , Female , Students/psychology , Attitude , Peer Group , Morals , UniversitiesABSTRACT
Objective: Optimism is an important factor impacting health and human functioning. Originally conceptualized as a trait, increasing evidence indicates that optimism can change over time and could be an intervention target. Measures are needed that can capture changes in optimism.Design: In this secondary analysis, we compared the performance of a newly developed state measure, the State Optimism Measure (SOM), to the widely used trait measure, the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), in detecting changes over time during a disruptive life event: the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.Main Outcome Measures: Participants (n = 81) were nondaily smokers participating in a smoking cessation intervention, who completed the SOM and LOT-R before and after the initial COVID-19 outbreak.Results: Optimism declined from pre- to post-COVID-19 outbreak, as assessed by both scales (LOT-R: p=.0147,gav=0.23; SOM: p<.0001,gav=0.56). The change detected was greater when measured by the SOM (p<.0001). Changes in optimism were correlated with concurrent changes in perceived stress, positive affect, and negative affect.Conclusion: Our results suggest that the SOM has a greater sensitivity to detect within-person changes in optimism than the LOT-R and highlight the SOM's utility for longitudinal studies assessing changes in optimism.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Smoking cessation smartphone apps have emerged as highly accessible tools to support smoking cessation efforts. It is unknown how specific app features contribute to user engagement over time and relate to smoking outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To provide a feature-level analysis of the Smiling Instead of Smoking app (version 2) and to link feature use to subsequent smoking cessation. METHODS: Nondaily smokers (N=100) used the app for a period of 49 days (1 week before quitting and 6 weeks after quitting). Participants self-reported 30-day point-prevalence abstinence at the end of this period and at a 6-month follow up (the survey response rate was 94% and 89% at these points, respectively). Self-reported 30-day point prevalence abstinence rates were 40% at the end of treatment and 56% at the 6-month follow up. The app engaged users in both positive psychology content and traditional behavioral smoking cessation content. The app sent push notifications to prompt participants to complete prescribed content (ie, a "happiness exercise" every day and a "behavioral challenge" to use the app's smoking cessation tools on 15 out of 49 days). Actions that participants took within the app were timestamped and recorded. RESULTS: Participants used the app on 24.7 (SD 13.8) days out of the 49 prescribed days, interacting with the happiness content on more days than the smoking content (23.8, SD 13.8 days vs 17.8, SD 10.3 days; t99=9.28 [2-tailed]; P<.001). The prescribed content was frequently completed (45% of happiness exercises; 57% of behavioral challenges) and ad libitum tools were used on ≤7 days. Most participants used each ad libitum smoking cessation tool at least once, with higher use of personalized content (≥92% used "strategies," "cigarette log," "smoke alarms," and "personal reasons") than purely didactic content (79% viewed "benefits of quitting smoking"). The number of days participants used the app significantly predicted 30-day point-prevalence abstinence at the end of treatment (odds ratio [OR] 1.05, 95% CI 1.02-1.09; P=.002) and at the 6-month follow up (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.008-1.07; P=.01). The number of days participants engaged with the happiness content significantly predicted smoking abstinence at the end of treatment (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.02-1.08; P=.002) and at the 6-month follow up (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.007-1.07; P=.02). This effect was not significant for the number of days participants engaged with the smoking cessation content of the app, either at the end of treatment (OR 1.04, 95% CI 0.996-1.08, P=.08) or at the 6-month follow up (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.98-1.06; P=.29). CONCLUSIONS: Greater app usage predicted greater odds of self-reported 30-day point-prevalence abstinence at both the end of treatment and over the long term, suggesting that the app had a therapeutic benefit. Positive psychology content and prescriptive clarity may promote sustained app engagement over time. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03951766; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03951766.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Recent evidence highlights the significant detrimental impact of nondaily smoking on health and its disproportionate prevalence in underserved populations; however, little work has been done to develop treatments specifically geared toward quitting nondaily smoking. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to test the feasibility, acceptability, and conceptual underpinnings of version 2 of the Smiling Instead of Smoking (SiS2) smartphone app, which was developed specifically for nondaily smokers and uses a positive psychology approach. METHODS: In a prospective, single-group study, nondaily smokers (N=100) were prescribed use of the SiS2 app for 7 weeks while undergoing a quit attempt. The app assigned daily positive psychology exercises and behavioral tasks every 2 to 3 days, which guided smokers through using the smoking cessation tools offered in the app. Participants answered surveys at baseline and at 2, 6, 12, and 24 weeks postquit. Feasibility was evaluated based on app use and acceptability based on survey responses. The underlying conceptual framework was tested by examining whether theorized within-person changes occurred from baseline to end of treatment on scales measuring self-efficacy, desire to smoke, and processing of self-relevant health information (ie, pros and cons of smoking, importance of the pros and cons of quitting, and motivation). RESULTS: Participants used the SiS2 app on an average of 24.7 (SD 13.8) days out of the 49 prescribed days. At the end of treatment, most participants rated the functions of the app as very easy to use (eg, 70/95, 74% regarding cigarette log and 59/95, 62% regarding happiness exercises). The average score on the System Usability Scale was 79.8 (SD 17.3; A grade; A+ ≥84.1, B+ <78.8). Most participants reported that the app helped them in their quit attempt (83/95, 87%), and helped them stay positive while quitting (78/95, 82%). Large effects were found for within-person decreases in the desire to smoke (b=-1.5, 95% CI -1.9 to -1.1; P<.001; gav=1.01), the importance of the pros of smoking (b=-20.7, 95% CI -27.2 to -14.3; P<.001; gav=0.83), and perceived psychoactive benefits of smoking (b=-0.8, 95% CI -1.0 to -0.5; P<.001; gav=0.80). Medium effects were found for increases in self-efficacy for remaining abstinent when encountering internal (b=13.1, 95% CI 7.6 to 18.7; P<.001; gav=0.53) and external (b=11.2, 95% CI 6.1 to 16.1; P<.001; gav=0.49) smoking cues. Smaller effects, contrary to expectations, were found for decreases in motivation to quit smoking (P=.005) and the perceived importance of the pros of quitting (P=.009). Self-reported 30-day point prevalence abstinence rates were 40%, 56%, and 56% at 6, 12, and 24 weeks after the quit day, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The SiS2 app was feasible and acceptable, showed promising changes in constructs relevant to smoking cessation, and had high self-reported quit rates by nondaily smokers. The SiS2 app warrants testing in a randomized controlled trial.
