The aim of this research is to build systems that can recognize when people are stressed and then provide them with relaxation prompts in the moment to reduce their likelihood of being stressed, smoking, or overeating in the near future. Using these systems should help smokers be more effective in their attempts to quit by reducing their tendency to lapse when they are stressed or experiencing other negative moods or behaviors.
The purpose of this study is (1) to evaluate the feasibility of a just-in-time intervention to decrease stress in recently quit smokers; and (2) to examine whether a just-in-time adaptive intervention that decreases stress also reduces the near-term odds of a smoking lapse. The primary hypothesis of this study is that the administration of a prompt to perform a relaxation exercise as compared to no prompt will lead to a lower likelihood of being stressed in the subsequent two hours, and that this effect will be stronger when the prompt is administered when the individual is stressed. The secondary hypothesis is that stress episodes will predict the timing of smoking lapses. The third hypothesis is that administration of a prompt to perform a relaxation exercise will reduce the odds of smoking for the next two hours, and that this effect will be stronger when the prompt is administered when the individual is stressed. The fourth (exploratory) hypothesis is that stress will predict the timing of overeating episodes. These data will also be used for developing automated risk prediction of smoking relapse, and for developing decision rules for the timing of Just-In-Time-Adaptive Interventions (JITAIs).
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
75
Study smartphone and software will be used to deliver intervention prompts to use stress management applications on the study smartphone at various times throughout the day, during at least 10 days of study participation. The delivery of prompts will be micro randomized to occur when participants are classified as stressed, and when participants are not classified as stressed. Headspace, a commercial stress management application, will be installed on the study smartphones. Thought Shakeup and Mood Surfing, stress management applications that are not commercially available, also will be installed on the study smartphones. These smartphone applications guide participants through stress management exercises that draw upon techniques from mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy.
Northwestern University
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Probability of being stressed.
Time frame: 2 hour window after each micro-randomized intervention vs. no intervention event during first 10 days after quitting smoking
First and all subsequent lapses in smoking cessation.
Time frame: 10 days
Overeating episodes
Time frame: 10 days
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