This developmental proposal is a Stage 1a grant that will develop and test the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of a novel incentive-based behavioral intervention to promote a tobacco-free lifestyle among high school adolescents. Nicotine dependence is a progressive, relapsing disorder, predominantly initiated during adolescence with few existing smoking cessation strategies and minimally efficacious prevention strategies. The focus on a """"""""tobacco free"""""""" lifestyle will allow for high school wide implementation of this project and decrease rates of potential deception in self-reports of smoking status. This project will be conducted in two sites, CT and NY and combines the expertise of two strong research groups, one at Yale with extensive experience in high school based research and one at Roswell Park with extensive experience in developing and testing community based incentive programs for adult smoking cessation. This multi-site trial will first conduct focus groups with adolescents and administrators in high schools to develop the """"""""Tobacco Free and Win"""""""" campaign and program. The program will be administered over two year period. In the first year, one school each from CT and NY will serve as the intervention school and the other two will serve as control schools. Interested students will make a pledge to be tobacco free during the academic year and will be entered into monthly drawings for various prizes and will also receive tobacco educational literature including information on prevention and cessation. Monthly drawings will be held for six months and incentives will be provided to those not using tobacco products (self-reports with biochemical validation). Surveys of tobacco use behaviors and attitudes towards such behaviors will be conducted prior to the start of the campaign and at the end of the program period. In the second year, intervention will be continued in the schools that received it in the first year and initiated in the schools that served as the control schools in the fist year. Focus groups at the end of the two year program period will evaluate methods to enhance its efficacy and reach. The following specific aims will be addressed: 1. To design an incentive based intervention;2. To assess the feasibility and acceptability of this incentive based intervention in high schools;and 3. To examine preliminary efficacy of the intervention, determine optimal duration of the program, and determine an effect size estimate for a larger trial. Estimates of effect size and other information obtained from this pilot proposal will be used to design a larger Stage 1b trial to test the efficacy of the intervention. Development of this intervention will follow the guidelines outlined by NIH for stage-wide development of behavioral therapies for substance use and will address the major goal of reducing rates of adolescent tobacco use put forth by the Surgeon General.

Public Health Relevance

Tobacco use is mostly initiated during adolescence and we have few effective smoking cessation or prevention strategies for high school aged smokers. This project will develop and test an innovative high-school based intervention that will be designed to provide incentives to motivate adolescents to maintain a tobacco free lifestyle. This intervention could provide a cost-effective method to reach and motivate a large number of adolescents to not use tobacco products.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DA026450-02
Application #
7911764
Study Section
Human Development Research Subcommittee (NIDA)
Program Officer
Grossman, Debra
Project Start
2009-09-01
Project End
2012-08-31
Budget Start
2010-09-01
Budget End
2012-08-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$374,111
Indirect Cost
Name
Yale University
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
043207562
City
New Haven
State
CT
Country
United States
Zip Code
06520
Kong, Grace; Ells, Daniel M; Camenga, Deepa R et al. (2014) Text messaging-based smoking cessation intervention: a narrative review. Addict Behav 39:907-17
Morean, Meghan E; Kong, Grace; Camenga, Deepa R et al. (2014) First drink to first drunk: age of onset and delay to intoxication are associated with adolescent alcohol use and binge drinking. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 38:2615-21
Camenga, Deepa R; Delmerico, Jennifer; Kong, Grace et al. (2014) Trends in use of electronic nicotine delivery systems by adolescents. Addict Behav 39:338-40
Camenga, Deepa R; Kong, Grace; Cavallo, Dana A et al. (2014) Alternate tobacco product and drug use among adolescents who use electronic cigarettes, cigarettes only, and never smokers. J Adolesc Health 55:588-91
Kong, Grace; Singh, Nisha; Camenga, Deepa et al. (2013) Menthol cigarette and marijuana use among adolescents. Nicotine Tob Res 15:2094-9
Kong, Grace; Camenga, Deepa; Cavallo, Dana et al. (2012) The role of ethnic pride and parental disapproval of smoking on smoking behaviors among minority and white adolescents in a suburban high school. Am J Addict 21:424-34
Schepis, Ty S; McFetridge, Amanda; Chaplin, Tara M et al. (2011) A pilot examination of stress-related changes in impulsivity and risk taking as related to smoking status and cessation outcome in adolescents. Nicotine Tob Res 13:611-5