An Age-Progression Intervention for Smoking Cessation: A Pilot Study Investigating the Influence of Two Sets of Instructions on Intervention Efficacy

Lucy Walker; Sarah Grogan; Andrew Denovan; Keira Scholtens; Brian McMillan; Mark Conner; Tracy Epton; Christopher J. Armitage; Maria I. Cordero

doi:10.1007/s12529-024-10285-3

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An Age-Progression Intervention for Smoking Cessation: A Pilot Study Investigating the Influence of Two Sets of Instructions on Intervention Efficacy

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An Age-Progression Intervention for Smoking Cessation: A Pilot Study Investigating the Influence of Two Sets of Instructions on Intervention Efficacy

Lucy Walker, Sarah Grogan, Andrew Denovan, Keira Scholtens, Brian McMillan, Mark Conner, Tracy Epton, Christopher J. Armitage and Maria I. Cordero

International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, Vol.33, pp.128-137

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-024-10285-3

PMID: 38724879

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Abstract

health behaviour

smoking cessation

instructions

women

aging

Background Research on age-progression facial morphing interventions for smoking cessation has not investigated the effect of different instructions for intervention delivery. The objective of this pilot study was to investigate the influence of two instruction types used to deliver the intervention on efficacy of the intervention. Method Women were recruited and randomly allocated to an age-progression intervention session with (i) neutral instructions; (ii) instructions designed to reassure; or (iii) a condition that controlled for participant engagement (“control”). The conditions were delivered in a one-time procedure, after which primary (quitting intentions) and secondary (cigarettes/week, quit attempts) outcomes were measured immediately post-intervention, and at 1 and 3 months. Results Seventy-two women (M = 25.7; SD = 0.9) were recruited and randomly allocated to condition (Neutral n = 27, Reassuring n = 22, Control n = 23). Quitting intentions were higher in the Reassuring versus Control arm (3 months post-intervention, F = 4.37, p = 0.016, 95% CI [0.231, 2.539], eta2 = 0.11); quit attempts were greater in the two intervention arms (58%) versus Control (1-month post-intervention, 15%) (χ2 = 9.83, p < 0.05, OR 1.00 [0.28, 3.63]). Conclusions Findings highlight the importance of optimising instructions to enhance intervention efficacy. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Record: NCT03749382.

Details

Title: An Age-Progression Intervention for Smoking Cessation: A Pilot Study Investigating the Influence of Two Sets of Instructions on Intervention Efficacy
Authors: Lucy Walker (Corresponding Author) - Manchester Metropolitan University
Sarah Grogan - Manchester Metropolitan University
Andrew Denovan - Liverpool John Moores University
Keira Scholtens - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Psychology
Brian McMillan - University of Manchester
Mark Conner - University of Leeds
Tracy Epton - University of Manchester
Christopher J. Armitage - University of Manchester
Maria I. Cordero - Manchester Metropolitan University
Publication details: International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, Vol.33, pp.128-137
Publisher: Springer New York LLC
Date published: 2026
DOI: 10.1007/s12529-024-10285-3
ISSN: 1532-7558; 1070-5503
PMID: 38724879
Copyright note: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Data Availability: The authors are open to data sharing of de-identified data collected. Application, with rationale, may be made to corresponding author at Manchester Metropolitan University, lucy.walker@mmu.ac.uk.
Organisation Unit: School of Health - Psychology
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991036485702621
Output Type: Journal article

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