In Lieu of Smoking: Are Smokers More Likely to Enact Certain Types of Implementation Intention Plans During a JIT Smoking Cessation?

backgroundTo identify actionable and effective implementation intention (II) plans, we examined whether (a) IIs suggesting food or nicotine-based substitution strategies to help quit smoking cigarettes would be more likely to be enacted in real time, (b) IIs reminding participants to cognitively motivate themselves or engage in solitary activity would be more likely to be enacted than those suggesting seeking social support, and (c) II plan enactment based on the above strategies would be associated with reporting momentary lapse avoidance.

methodA sample of 57 Asian American young adult (18-25 years) smokers participated in a 4-week, mobile-based smoking cessation intervention, implemented in a Just-In-Time framework. User-specified IIs were categorized into nature of activity (cognitively motivate themselves, engage in solitary activity, seek social support) and type of substitution strategy (food, nicotine, no substitution). Outcome variable was momentary enactment of the given II. Generalized mixed linear models were used for analyses.

resultsIIs reminding participants to cognitively motivate themselves and/or engage in solitary activities were more likely to be enacted than IIs recommending seeking social support. IIs recommending nicotine-based substitution were more likely to be enacted than IIs that did not specify any substitution. IIs suggesting food-based substitution, however, were less likely to be enacted than those not suggesting a specific substitution. II plan enactment based on the above strategies was significantly associated with avoiding momentary lapses compared to when momentary lapses occurred.

conclusionSpecifying II recommendations found to be helpful with avoiding lapses in a smoking cessation context, can increase chances of II enactment, and improve overall health intervention outcomes.