Text Message Delivered Peer Network Counseling for Adolescent Smokers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Adolescent Health
• Digital Health Interventions

Background:

• Adolescent tobacco use shows concerning trends, particularly among African American youth.
• Limited access to evidence-based smoking cessation programs for urban youth.
• Need for innovative interventions to address adolescent smoking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test a text messaging smoking cessation intervention for urban adolescents.
• To utilize motivational interviewing-based peer network counseling via automated texting.
• To evaluate the intervention's efficacy in reducing smoking and increasing cessation intentions.

Main Methods:

• Randomized controlled trial with 200 adolescents (90.5% African American).
• Experimental group received personalized motivational interviewing text messages.
• Control group received general health messages; assessments at baseline and 1, 3, 6 months.

Main Results:

• Significant reduction in smoking days and cigarettes per day at 6 months.
• Increased intentions not to smoke in the future.
• Improved peer social support among girls; reduced daily smoking friends among boys.

Conclusions:

• Text messaging interventions are effective for adolescent smoking reduction.
• The motivational interviewing-based peer network approach shows promise.
• Potential for a scalable public health platform for smoking prevention.