Supplement to Promote Diversity: Looming Vulnerability and Smoking Cessation Attempts

 描述（由申请人提供）：尽管广泛宣传吸烟的负面影响，近五分之一的美国成年人是目前的吸烟者。该应用程序旨在通过研究一种激励吸烟者尝试戒烟的新方法来增加戒烟计划的覆盖面。这种新颖的激励方法是基于焦虑的“隐约可见的脆弱性”模型。该模型提出，焦虑源于对威胁性刺激的感知，即在空间或时间上迅速升级或接近人（即，“若隐若现”）。拟议的项目是一项实验，其中18岁或以上的每日（>= 10支/天）吸烟者（N = 290）将暴露于中性引导图像或暗示吸烟的负面健康后果正在逼近的图像。培训的目的是增强吸烟者戒烟的紧迫感，使他们认识到吸烟对健康的影响正在增加，而且越来越接近这些影响，而不是仍然停滞不前，遥不可及的威胁。一项新的自我报告措施，感知吸烟的健康后果是“迫在眉睫”，将完成后，引导图像演习。这两种情况的参与者都将得到简短的书面戒烟建议，以及为那些对戒烟感兴趣的人提供免费公共资源的信息。在四周后的后续评估中，参与者将接受采访，了解他们自实验会议以来是否有戒烟尝试。还将测量干预期间的吸烟率以及吸烟预期。将进行额外的分析，以确定诱导是否更适合女性，老年吸烟者或具有特定个性特征的吸烟者。具体目标是：具体目标1：评估基于图像的潜在脆弱性诱导在当前吸烟者中增加戒烟尝试的效用。假设1：被随机分配接受迫在眉睫的脆弱性诱导的吸烟者在接下来的四周内尝试戒烟的可能性要比那些被分配接受中性意象诱导的吸烟者大得多。具体目标二：以确定潜在的脆弱性诱导对戒烟尝试的影响是否是通过对吸烟后果的感知来介导的。假设二：相对于中性诱导，迫在眉睫的脆弱性诱导通过增加吸烟的健康后果确实迫在眉睫的感知来增加戒烟尝试。具体目标3：以确定潜在脆弱性诱导对戒烟尝试的影响是否受视觉想象能力、感觉寻求、性别或年龄的调节。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Despite widespread publicity concerning negative consequences of cigarette smoking, almost one-fifth of U.S. adults are current smokers. This application aims to increase the reach of smoking cessation programs by studying a new way to motivate smokers to make quit attempts. The novel motivational approach is based on the "looming vulnerability" model of anxiety. The model proposes that anxiety arises from perceptions of a threatening stimulus as rapidly escalating or as moving closer to the person in space or time (i.e., "looming"). The proposed project is an experiment in which daily (>= 10 cigarettes/day) smokers aged 18 or over (N = 290) will be exposed to either neutral guided imagery or imagery suggesting that the negative health consequences of smoking are looming. The induction is intended to increase smokers' sense of urgency about quitting by fostering the perceptions that the health consequences of smoking are increasing and coming closer to them, as opposed to remaining stagnant, distant threats. A new self-report measure of perceiving the health consequences of smoking as "looming" will be completed after the guided imagery exercise. Participants in both conditions will be given brief written advice to quit smoking, as wel as information about free public resources for those interested in smoking cessation. At a follow-up assessment four weeks later, participants will be interviewed regarding whether they have made a quit attempt since the experimental session. Smoking rate in the intervening period will also be measured, as well as expectancies for smoking. Additional analyses will be conducted to determine whether the induction works better for women, older smokers, or smokers with particular personality characteristics. Specific aims are: Specific Aim 1: to evaluate the utility f an imagery-based induction of looming vulnerability for increasing quit attempts among current smokers. Hypothesis 1: Smokers randomly assigned to receive a looming vulnerability induction will be significantly more likely to attempt to quit in the next four weeks than will those assigne to a neutral imagery induction. Specific Aim 2: to determine whether the effect of the looming vulnerability induction on quit attempts is mediated by perception of the consequences of smoking as looming. Hypothesis 2: The looming vulnerability induction increases quit attempts relative to a neutral induction via increases in the perception that the health consequences of smoking are indeed looming. Specific Aim 3: to determine whether the effect of the looming vulnerability induction on quit attempts is moderated by visual imagery ability, sensation seeking, sex, or age.