Changes in readiness to quit and self-efficacy among adolescents receiving a brief office intervention for smoking cessation

Purpose: To examine changes in readiness to quit and self-efficacy among adolescents who received a clinic-based, brief office intervention (BOI) for smoking cessation. Methods: This study utilized a prospective, pre-post- treatment design. Participants were adolescent smokers (34 females, 35 males) with a mean ± SD age of 15.8 ± 1.4 years; 86% were Caucasian, who were randomly assigned to receive the BOI as part of a larger clinical trial. They were recruited from three cities in the Midwest and Northeastern part of the United States. After the baseline assessment, the BOI was designed for adolescents to receive four weekly individual sessions with a research counselor lasting between 10 and 40 min each. The BOI includes motivational interviewing and cognitive-behavioral techniques. Readiness to quit was assessed at each treatment session using the stages of change algorithm. The validated Adolescent Smoking Self-Efficacy Scale (SES) was used to assess self-efficacy at baseline (week 0) prior to the intervention and at post-treatment (week 4). The SES items comprise three factors or subscales: opportunities to smoke, emotional stress, and friends' influence. Results: The percentage of adolescents who made improvement on readiness to quit from the baseline treatment session was statistically significant (p < .001) for each of the three subsequent treatment sessions. Self-efficacy scores increased significantly (p < .004) from baseline to post-treatment for all three subscales. Conclusions: Adolescents receiving a BOI progressed in their readiness and self-efficacy to quit. Understanding the change process among adolescent smokers during treatment could influence the design of future stop smoking interventions.