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Avatar-led Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Smoking Cessation

Not Applicable
Conditions
Smoking Cessation
Interventions
Behavioral: Flexiquit
Registration Number
NCT03631212
Lead Sponsor
University of Cyprus
Brief Summary

Smoking remains a global concern, especially for youth where developmentally-suited smoking cessation programs are lacking and especially among those not presenting for treatment on their own. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of an avatar-led digitalized smoking cessation intervention (Flexiquit) based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for young adult smokers at all levels of motivation to quit.

Detailed Description

Cigarette smoking is associated with various health problems, particularly certain forms of cancer and early death (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1997). More recently, smoking has become a global problem among youth and it is imperative that research puts an emphasis on prevention and intervention particularly in this age group (World Health Organization, 2009). Over the past few years, research has shown that internet-based interventions are more cost effective, cater to individuals who are unable/unwilling to attend weekly treatment sessions with a therapist, and are promising in terms of improving attrition rates, a major problem with most treatment trials. Moreover, internet-based interventions use technology often utilized to attract youth (interactive games, animation, video clips etc.) and thus may reach and engage a wider range of individuals than traditional face-to-face interventions. ACT is an empirically-based intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies and has been shown to increase psychological flexibility. The aim of the present study is to investigate the usefulness and effectiveness of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) internet-based smoking cessation intervention program for college, high school and vocational school student smokers. Findings are expected to show that a digitalized program designed to engage youth in smoking cessation can result in quitting smoking and has a high applicability potential especially among the hard-to-reach population of youth.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
UNKNOWN
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
300
Inclusion Criteria
  • Regular smoker (at least 1 cigarette per day)
  • Parental consent for those under 18years of age
Exclusion Criteria
  • Currently enrolled in another smoking cessation program

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
FlexiquitFlexiquitDigital ACT-based intervention for smoking cessation
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Number of cigarettesPost-intervention (following completion of digital session 5) and follow-up (3 months and 6 months after post-intervention)

Change in the number of cigarettes smoked per day

Quit ratePost-intervention (following completion of digital session 5) and follow-up (3 months and 6 months after post-intervention)

Change in Smoking quit status at each assessment point

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in self-efficacy to not smoke in specific situationsPost-intervention (following completion of digital session 5) and follow-up (3 months and 6 months after post-intervention)

Change in Smoking Self-Efficacy Questionnaire scores

Change in Readiness to quitPost-intervention (following completion of digital session 5) and follow-up (3 months and 6 months after post-intervention)

Change in the Contemplation Ladder assessing stages of change

Change in Nicotine DependencePost-intervention (following completion of digital session 5) and follow-up (3 months and 6 months after post-intervention)

Change in the Fagerstrom Test of Nicotine Dependence scores

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Cyprus

🇨🇾

Nicosia, Non-US/Non-Canadian, Cyprus

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