The major goal of the proposed research is to establish a laboratory program for the long term elimination of chronic cigarette smoking and to isolate the specific factors responsible for the treatment effect. A concurrent effort will be made to test the applicability of treatment under minimal contact conditions, with the eventual aim of establishing programs which can be applied in clinical settings and possibly as self-help procedures. Study I will proceed from a relatively global level and will contrast two stage vs. three stage interventions derived from previous research. Comparison will also be made of minimal contact vs. intensive contact and of abstinence instructions vs. a tracking program which encourages nonabstinent subjects to maintain substantial reductions in smoking. The three stage program will include preparation (stimulus control and fear appeals), aversion (excessive smoking), and maintenance (contractual management and booster sessions). Preparation will not be included in the two stage treatment. Study II will involve a somewhat finer level of analysis and will provide a factorial assessment of the three treatment stages under investigation in Study I. Subjects will be assigned to either a three-stage program (preparation, aversion, maintenance), a two-stage program (preparation, aversion; preparation, maintenance; or aversion, maintenance) or a single-stage program (preparation, aversion, or maintenance). Minimal contact and tracking programs will not be assessed in study III. Study III will involve a still finer level of analysis. The core program will involve whichever stages or combination of stages were found most effective in study II. Now the focus will be upon specific treatment elements within each of the stages: fear appeals, active aversion, and booster sessions. The results of the three studies should provide the basis for an improved treatment program which can be subjected to further laboratory analysis as well as adapted for clinical use.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter