Kathrin Schuck
Title of Research Project:
Evaluation of a Smoking Cessation Intervention for Parents
Abstract:
In the present project, we will conduct a 2-arm randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of a smoking cessation intervention delivered through counselor-initiated telephone calls to smoking parents. Telephone counseling will integrate Motivational Interviewing’s counseling style and cognitive-behavioral skill building components. Counselors will follow-up each phone contact with a tailored mailing. Smoking parents will be proactively recruited through their children’s schools. The primary aim is to evaluate the intervention’s impact on parental smoking cessation and to further understand mediating processes in smoking cessation. Parental assessments will take place at baseline, immediately after delivery of the intervention, and at one-year follow-up.
Additionally, research focuses on the association between smoking behavior of parents and susceptibility to initiate smoking in their early adolescent children. Particularly, we are interested in parental influences on the formation of fundamental smoking initiation-related processes, for example smoking-related cognitions (e.g., intention to smoke, self-efficacy, pros and cons of smoking, perceived social norms). Naturally, we are interested in whether any of these processes can be attenuated by the parental counseling and parental smoking cessation. Children’s’ assessment will take place at baseline and one year follow-up.