Journal article
An Age-Progression Intervention for Smoking Cessation: A Pilot Study Investigating the Influence of Two Sets of Instructions on Intervention Efficacy
International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, Vol.33, pp.128-137
2026
PMID: 38724879
Abstract
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 UniversitySarah Grogan - Manchester Metropolitan UniversityAndrew Denovan - Liverpool John Moores UniversityKeira Scholtens - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - PsychologyBrian McMillan - University of ManchesterMark Conner - University of LeedsTracy Epton - University of ManchesterChristopher J. Armitage - University of ManchesterMaria 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
- 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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- Domestic collaboration
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- Web Of Science research areas
- Psychology, Clinical