The Relationship Between In-Treatment Abstinence and Post-Treatment Abstinence in a Smoking Cessation Treatment

Paul Romanowich, R. J. Lamb

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Previous research has indicated that abstinence early in a smoking cessation program is predictive of successful posttreatment abstinence. However, it has not been established whether or not this effect is independent of other in-treatment abstinence patterns. In this paper the relationship between three potentially important aspects of in-treatment smoking abstinence and posttreatment smoking abstinence are examined: early abstinence, extended abstinence, and end-of-treatment abstinence. We examined the relationship between smoking behavior measured each weekday over 70 visits (approximately 14 weeks) of a contingency management smoking cessation program and at a follow-up visit 6 months after study entry (3 months after the scheduled end of treatment). Ninety-five of 102 participants were successfully followed-up. Seven of these 95 participants were confirmed abstinent. Early abstinence, defined as abstinence during the first 10 treatment visits, was significantly and independently related to follow-up abstinence (OR = 56.67 [7.29-440.63]). Extended abstinence and end-of-treatment abstinence were related to follow-up abstinence, but not independent of early abstinence based on multiple regression models. Inclusion of a variety of demographic and environmental characteristics did not significantly alter this relationship. Thus, consistent with the previous literature, the establishment of early abstinence appears to be crucial to establishing longer-term abstinence, independent of other in-treatment abstinence patterns.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)32-36
Number of pages5
JournalExperimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology
Volume18
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2010

Keywords

  • cigarette
  • contingency management
  • nicotine
  • predictor
  • quitting

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Pharmacology (medical)
  • Pharmacology

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