An experimental investigation of reactivity to ecological momentary assessment frequency among adults trying to quit smoking

• Published in: Addiction (Abingdon, England) England), 2015-10, Vol.110 (10), p.1549-1560
• Main Authors: McCarthy, Danielle E., Minami, Haruka, Yeh, Vivian M., Bold, Krysten W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Addiction; Adult; Adults; Affect; Anger; Anxiety; Anxiety - psychology; Community participation; Confidence intervals; Craving; Ecological Momentary Assessment; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Motivation; Odds Ratio; reactivity; Secondary analysis; Self Efficacy; self-monitoring; Smoking; Smoking - therapy; Smoking cessation; Smoking Cessation - methods
• ISSN: 0965-2140; 1360-0443
• DOI: 10.1111/add.12996

Aims Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) captures real‐time reports in subjects’ natural environments. This experiment manipulated EMA frequency to estimate effects on abstinence and peri‐cessation subjective experiences. Design In this randomized trial, subjects had an equal chance of being assigned to low‐frequency (once) or high‐frequency (six times) daily EMA for 4 weeks (1 week pre‐ and 3 weeks post‐cessation). Participants completed six office visits over 5 weeks and 6‐ and 12‐week follow‐up telephone interviews. Setting Community participants were recruited from central New Jersey, USA. Participants One hundred and ten adult daily smokers seeking to quit smoking were included in intent‐to‐treat analyses of tobacco abstinence; 94 were available for secondary analyses of peri‐cessation subjective ratings. Measurements Primary outcomes were cessation (abstaining at least 24 hours within 2 weeks of attempting to quit) and prolonged abstinence (no relapse between weeks 2 and 12 post‐quit). Secondary outcomes were mean levels and growth in ratings of cigarette craving, affect and quitting motivation and self‐efficacy. Findings EMA frequency was unrelated to cessation (odds ratio = 1.367, 95% confidence interval = 0.603–3.098) or prolonged abstinence (odds ratio = 1.040, 95% confidence interval = 0.453–2.388) in intent‐to‐treat analyses. High‐frequency EMA was associated with lower craving (B = –0.544, standard error (SE) = 0.183, P = 0.004, anxiety (B = –0.424, SE = 0.170, P = 0.015), anger (B = –0.474, SE = 0.139, P = 0.001), hunger (B = –0.388, SE = 0.170, P = 0.025) and positive affect (B = –0.430, SE = 0.196, P = 0.03). Conclusions In smokers trying to quit, more frequent ecological momentary assessment self‐monitoring results in lower craving, anxiety, anger, hunger and positive affect. It is not clear whether this translates into higher rates of smoking abstinence.