Personalized Feedback for Distress Intolerant Smokers

This project will develop and refine a computer-delivered integrated Personalized Feedback Intervention (PFI) that directly addresses smoking and distress tolerance. The PFI will focus on feedback about smoking behavior, distress tolerance, and adaptive coping strategies.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Depression; Anxiety Disorders; Psychological Distress; Tobacco Dependence; Smoking, Tobacco; Smoking, Cigarette
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: PFI for Smoking & Distress Tolerance; Behavioral: PFI for Smoking Only

Detailed Description

The primary goal of the research study is to investigate the efficacy of a brief, personalized computer-delivered transdiagnostic intervention (PFI) that addresses smoking and distress tolerance to reduce smoking, increase quit attempts, reduce perceived barriers to cessation, increase distress tolerance, reduce anxiety/depressive symptoms, and increase adaptive coping skills compared to a personalized feedback on smoking only control. To address this aim, the investigators will implement a randomized controlled trial that will employ a longitudinal experimental design and involve four stages: (a) phone-screener (pre-screener); (b) baseline appointment consisting of a pre-intervention assessment (eligibility), random assignment to a one-session computer-delivered intervention (Active PFI versus Control PFI with no personalized feedback on distress tolerance), and a post-intervention assessment; (c) 2-week follow-up; (d) 1-month follow-up. Assessments will include a multi-method approach, including biological, behavioral, and self-report methods.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 121
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • Houston, Texas, United States, 77204
      • Anxiety and Health Research Laboratory and Substance Use Treatment Clinic, University of Houston

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Low distress tolerance defined as a DTS mean score of 2.56 or lower
• Daily smoking for at least one year (minimum 5 cigarettes per day and biochemically confirmed via Carbon Monoxide [CO] analysis at least 5 ppm)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Currently engaging in treatment for an alcohol/drug problem including smoking cessation
• Legal status that will interfere with participating
• Not being fluent in English

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: PFI for Smoking & Distress Tolerance; A brief, one-session computer-delivered personalized feedback intervention (PFI) that addresses smoking and distress tolerance.	Behavioral: PFI for Smoking & Distress Tolerance; Personalized Feedback Intervention for smoking and distress tolerance.
Active Comparator: PFI for Smoking Only; A brief, one-session computer-delivered personalized feedback intervention (PFI) that addresses smoking only (no distress tolerance component).	Behavioral: PFI for Smoking Only; Personalized Feedback Intervention for smoking only (no distress tolerance component)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Rulers for Smoking Cessation	The Rulers for Smoking Cessation asks participants to rate three rulers associated with motivation, confidence, and intention to quit smoking. Motivation is indexed by, "How important is stopping smoking to you (0 = Not important at all; 10 = Most important goal of my life)?" with a higher score indicating a better outcome. Confidence is indexed by, "How confident are you that you will quit smoking within the next month (0 = Not at all; 10 = 100% confident)?" with a higher score indicating a better outcome. Intention is indexed by, "How ready are you to quit smoking within the next month (0 = Not at all; 10 = 100% ready)?" with a higher score indicating a better outcome.	Baseline, 2-week, and 1-month follow-up
Barriers to Cessation Scale	The Barriers to Cessation Scale assesses 19-barriers, or specific stressors, associated with smoking cessation. Participants indicate, according to a 4-point Likert-style scale (0 = Not a barrier to 3 = Large barrier), the extent to which they identify with each of the barriers to cessation. Lower scores indicate a better outcome (range = 0 - 57).	Baseline, 2-week, and 1-month follow-up
Timeline Follow-Back	The Timeline Follow-Back (TLFB) is a self-report measure to assess retrospective estimates of daily smoking. The TLFB was used to assess smoking rate computed as a mean score of past 7-day cigarettes smoked per day.	Baseline, 2-week, and 1-month follow-up
Distress Tolerance Scale	The Distress Tolerance Scale is a self-report measure in which respondents indicate, on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = 'strongly agree' to 5 = 'strongly disagree'), the extent to which they believe they can experience and withstand distressing emotional states. All items are averaged to create a total mean score ranging from 1 to 5 with higher total scores indicating a better outcome (i.e., greater tolerance for distress).	Baseline, 2-week, and 1-month follow-up
Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire-Short Form	The Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire-Short Form will be used to assess anxiety/depressive symptoms. Participants indicate how much they have experienced each symptom on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = Not at all to 5 = Extremely). Specifically, the Anxious Arousal subscale will be used to measure anxiety and the Anhedonic Depression subscale will be used to measure depression. The Anxious Arousal subscale consists of 17-items with lower scores indicating better outcomes (range = 17 - 85). The Anhedonic Depression subscale consists of 22-items with lower scores indicating better outcomes (range = 22 - 110).	Baseline, 2-week, and 1-month follow-up
Self-Help Scale	The Self-Help Scale asks participants to indicate whether they would be willing to try each of 10 strategies to help deal with depression and anxiety on a 5-point Likert-type scale from 0 (definitely not) to 4 (extremely willing). Higher scores indicate a better outcome (range = 0 - 4).	Baseline, 2-week, and 1-month follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Houston
• Collaborators: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Brooke Kauffman, M.A., University of Houston; Principal Investigator: Michael Zvolensky, Ph.D., University of Houston

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• Project Website

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 15, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 24, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): October 24, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 15, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 13, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): April 17, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 15, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 12, 2024
• Last Verified: November 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Depression; Stress; Smoking; Tobacco; Psychological Distress; Feedback; Anxiety Disorders
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Anxiety Disorders; Depression; Tobacco Use Disorder
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00000686; 1F31DA046127-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No