title: Evaluation of an Internet virtual world chat room for adolescent smoking cessation.
abstract: The goal of this longitudinal study was to test an innovative approach to smoking cessation that might be particularly attractive to adolescent smokers. The study was a participatory research effort between academic and school partners. The intervention used an Internet-based, virtual reality world combined with motivational interviewing conducted in real-time by a smoking cessation counselor. Participants were 136 adolescent smokers recruited from high schools randomized to the intervention or a measurement-only control condition. Those who participated in the program were significantly more likely than controls to report at the immediate post-intervention assessment that they had abstained from smoking during the past week (p<or=.01), smoked fewer days in the past week (p<or=.001), smoked fewer cigarettes in the past week (p<or=.01), and considered themselves a former smoke (p<or=.05). Only the number of times quit was statistically significant at a one-year follow-up assessment (p<or=.05). The lack of longer-term results is discussed, as are methodological challenges in conducting a cluster-randomized smoking cessation study.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, 9245 Sky Park Ct, Ste 120, San Diego, CA 92123, United States. swoodruff@projects.sdsu.edu
authors.forename: Susan I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Woodruff
authors.forename: Terry L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Conway
authors.forename: Christine C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Sean P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Crittenden
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011584:Psychology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014584:User-Computer Interface