The relationship between in-treatment abstinence and post-treatment abstinence in a smoking cessation treatment.
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.
Romanowich
Paul
P
Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX, USA. promanowich@csuchico.edu
Lamb
R J
RJ
D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome