Episodic Future Thinking, Loss Aversion and Cigarette Smoking

University of Vermont

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Tobacco Smoking

Treatments: Behavioral: Episodic Future Thinking; Behavioral: Control Episodic Thinking

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05110612

FP00002058

Details and patient eligibility

About

Controlled laboratory experiment to examine whether Episodic Future Thinking influences loss aversion and cigarette smoking among adult individuals who currently smoke cigarettes daily.

Full description

Specific Aim 1: Examine in a controlled laboratory study using a randomized parallel-group design whether an intervention that increases LA among 138 current adult daily cigarette smokers (≥21 years; 50% male/50% female) also (1) decreases cigarette smoking and (2) can improve with practice and (3) sustain effectiveness at a follow-up assessment. Potential influence of DD, other self-control, and potential sociodemographic confounders will be accounted for in all analyses.

Hypothesis 1.1: EFT will increase LA and reduce cigarette smoking (i.e., smoking rate). (Primary) Hypothesis 1.2: Changes in LA will mediate the effect of EFT on cigarette smoking independent of changes in DD, and relevant self-control related factors. (Primary) Hypothesis 1.3: EFT effects will be greater following Extended compared to Brief training. (Secondary) Hypothesis 1.4: Changes in LA and smoking rate sustained at follow up will be mediated by EFT habit learning indexed by the perceived automaticity of cue generation with extended EFT practice. (Exploratory)

Enrollment: 192 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 21+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria

Inclusion criteria:

1. Adult ≥ age 21 years.
2. Able to provide informed, written consent.
3. Smoke an average of at least five (5) cigarettes per day for at least one year.
4. Breath CO levels > 8 ppm. If breath CO is less than 8 ppm, we will administer a urine test (NicAlert Strip) and include if result is greater than 2.
5. Desire to quit smoking, but not actively trying to quit or currently taking medications to aid smoking cessation (e.g, varenicline, bupropion).
6. US citizen or a permanent resident alien with a green card
7. Comfortable reading and writing in English

Exclusion criteria:

1. Currently seeking treatment for smoking cessation.
2. Use of tobacco products other than traditional combusted cigarettes on more than 9 of the previous 30 days
3. Positive urine toxicological screen for illicit drug use (i.e., amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, buprenorphine, opiates, methadone, oxycodone, phencyclidine).

a. A positive test for marijuana (THC) will not result in exclusion from the study.

d) Breath alcohol level (BAL) at <.01 (Alco-Sensor IV, Intoximeter, Inc., St Louis, MO) at intake.

a. Participants failing the toxicological screen will be allowed to re-screened for the study. These participants will complete the informed consent process an additional time before being re-screened.

e) Recent or current psychiatric episode to be determined with DSM-V criteria. f) Non-correctable vision or hearing impairments. g) Inability to independently read and comprehend written materials (consent form, other study materials and measures).

h) Currently pregnant (to be determined with a pregnancy test) or trying to become pregnant.

i) Currently breastfeeding. j) Exclusive use of "roll your own" cigarettes.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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192 participants in 3 patient groups

Extended Episodic Future Thinking

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will receive Episodic Future Thinking practice for 8 sessions.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Episodic Future Thinking

Brief Episodic Future Thinking

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will receive Episodic Future Thinking practice for 2 sessions.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Episodic Future Thinking

Control

Sham Comparator group

Description:

Participants will receive sham Episodic Recent Thinking intervention.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Control Episodic Thinking