Self-Control and Adult Cigarette Smokers

Yeshiva University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Smoking

Treatments: Behavioral: self control practice - smoking related task; Behavioral: self control practice - non-smoking related task

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02663882

2015-5479

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to learn more about self-control and adults who smoke cigarettes. It has been suggested that people can improve self-control by practicing tasks that require the use of self-control (such as delaying cigarettes or sitting up as straight as possible). The goal of this study is to learn about whether scores on self-control and other measures will change after one week of practicing self-control tasks at home. We believe that adults who smoke cigarettes will show better self-control after practicing tasks for a week.

Full description

The purpose of this pilot study is to examine a smoking-related self-control task and smoking behavior in adult smokers who are not motivated to quit smoking.

This pilot study will have a between-subjects design. All participants will be asked to complete two study appointments. First, they will complete a baseline appointment where they will review consent procedures. Participants who complete the consent forms will then be asked to fill out measures of demographics, smoking, and self-control. Smoking will be confirmed using expired breath carbon monoxide (CO) levels taken using a CO monitor. At that appointment participants will be randomly assigned to complete one of two self-control tasks: a task that is related to smoking (e.g., giving instructions to delay smoking when they have a craving) or a task that is not related to smoking (e.g., participants will be instructed to try to maintain the best posture possible (e.g., sit up straight, walk with good posture) as much as possible throughout each day Random assignment will be done using a random number generator and 50% of participants will be assigned to the smoking task while the other 50% will be assigned to the non-smoking task. Study staff will received standardized instructions to read to each participant about the task that they are assigned to practice during the week. Participants will be asked to practice their assigned self-control task every day for a week and to complete a brief series of questions about the effort and time spent practicing the task that day along with the number of cigarettes they smoked that day. After one week, participants will return for the second study appointment where they will report on their effort and time spent practicing the self-control tasks and complete additional measures of smoking and self-control.

Enrollment: 75 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Be adults who are 18 years of age or older
2. Currently smoke ≥10 cigarettes per day biochemically confirmed by an expired breath carbon monoxide (CO) level ≥8
3. Report that they are not currently attempting to quit smoking and not currently receiving smoking cessation treatment (e.g., counseling, nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion, varenicline)
4. Have the capacity to give informed consent
5. Be English-speaking.

Exclusion criteria

1. Children under the age of 18
2. Non-English speakers
3. Those who do not have the capacity to consent will be excluded from this study.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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75 participants in 2 patient groups

smoking-related self control task

Experimental group

Description:

self control practice - smoking related task

Treatment:

Behavioral: self control practice - smoking related task

Non-smoking-related self control task

Active Comparator group

Description:

self control practice - non-smoking related task

Treatment:

Behavioral: self control practice - non-smoking related task