Abstract
Objective: To assess aspirations for physical health over 18 months. To examine whether maintained importance of aspirations for physical health mediated and/or moderated the effect of an intensive intervention on long-term tobacco abstinence. Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention based on self-determination theory or to community care, and provided data at baseline and at 18 and 30 months post-randomization. Results: Aspirations for physical health were better maintained over 18 months among participants in the intervention (mean change = .05), relative to community care (mean change = -.13), t = 2.66, p < .01. Maintained importance of aspirations for physical health partially mediated the treatment condition effects on seven-day point prevalence tobacco abstinence (z′ = 1.68, p < .01) and the longest number of days not smoking (z′ = 2.16, p < .01), and interacted with treatment condition to facilitate the longest number of days not smoking (β = .08, p < .05). Conclusion: Maintained importance of aspirations for physical health facilitated tobacco abstinence. Practice implications: Smokers may benefit from discussing aspirations for physical health within autonomy-supportive interventions. Patients may benefit from discussing aspirations during counseling about therapeutic lifestyle change and medication use.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 250-257 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Patient Education and Counseling |
Volume | 74 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2009 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported in part by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01-MH59594) and the National Cancer Institute (R01-CA106668).
Keywords
- Health aspirations
- Self-determination theory
- Tobacco abstinence