Research Project
2256693
Research on compliance with health recommendations attests to the difficulty of changing deeply ingrained behavior patterns. Over 70% of smokers relapse during any single attempt at cessation. Previous research under this award has demonstrated the relevance of reversal theory concepts to the smoking cessation process and identified a need for new strategies to help ex-smokers resist the urge to smoke, particularly in those situations associated with unpleasant low arousal (boredom) or pleasant high arousal (excitement). The overall research objective of this continuation effort is to develop biobehavioral, arousal-altering strategies for resisting the urge to smoke that are appropriate for nurse-delivered interventions. Our approach is theory based and involves the multivariate examination of physiological and subjective measures of arousal associated with smoking and smoking deprivation. A series of four interrelated studies is planned. Study 1 will test the hypothesis that the effects of smoking on subjective and physiological measures of arousal are different in different metamotivational states as defined by reversal theory. Study 2 tests the hypothesis that specific strategies can be used to mimic the effects of smoking on arousal measures. Study 3 evaluates whether the strategies shown to be effective with smokers are also effective in altering arousal measures during the cessation process. The final study will pilot test an intervention protocol incorporating the newly designed strategies. Methods include measures of regionally specific electrical activity of the brain (spectral EEG, CNV), tonic and phasic muscle activity, cardiac activity, metamotivational state, and multidimensional aspects of subjective arousal. In the initial studies, measures are obtained after smoking deprivation and subsequent to sham and real smoking to identify the effects of smoking. Later studies are devoted to developing strategies that mimic these effects and to pilot testing an intervention based on the results obtained.
