Internet-based group contingency management to promote smoking abstinence

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Public Health
• Addiction Medicine

Background:

• Internet-based group contingencies can encourage short-term smoking cessation.
• Group contingencies require teams to meet collective abstinence goals for rewards.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare two internet-based group contingency arrangements for smoking abstinence: a full group model and a mixed group model.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of these models using remote monitoring and social support.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Mo̅tiv8 Systems for video-recorded breath carbon monoxide (CO) sample collection.
• Implemented a full group contingency (all members meet goals) and a mixed group contingency (individual and group goals).
• Facilitated team communication via an online discussion forum.

Main Results:

• Smoking abstinence, measured by negative CO samples, increased from 3.3% during baseline to 41.3% when group contingencies were applied.
• No significant differences in abstinence rates were found between the full and mixed group arrangements at the end of treatment or follow-up.
• The full group contingency model was significantly more cost-effective, with lower voucher costs per participant compared to the mixed group.

Conclusions:

• Internet-based group contingencies are effective in promoting smoking abstinence.
• Both tested group contingency models yielded comparable abstinence outcomes.
• The full group contingency model offers a more cost-effective approach to smoking cessation interventions.