SMOKING CESSATION AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS

THIS PHASE I STUDY WILL BEGIN TO DEVELOP AND PILOT TEST A CULTURALLY SENSITIVE, THEORY-BASED, AND COMMERCIALLY VIABLE CURRICULUM WITHIN AN INTERACTIVE EDUCATIONAL FORMAT TO HELP AFRICAN-AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN ABSTINENCEFROM CIGARETTE SMOKING. SEQUENTIALLY, THE STUDY WILL DEVELOP A CURRICULUM FOR SMOKING CESSATION AND RELAPSE PREVENTION, EVALUATE SEVERAL COMPUTER-BASED FORMATS AND DEVELOP AN INTERACTIVE EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT SYSTEM BASED ON THAT CURRICULUM, AND TEST THE EFFICACY OF THE EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT SYSTEM IN AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY. PROCESS MEASURES WILL INCLUDE A DETERMINATION OF ACCEPTABILITY OF BOTH THE CONTENT AND THE INTERACTIVE FORMATFOR SMOKING CONTROL AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS. OUTCOME MEASURES ARE COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL INDICATORS OF SMOKING CESSATION AND A COMPARISON OF THE DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF THE INTERVENTION ON MALE AND FEMALE AFRICAN- AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS. IF THE COMPUTER-BASED INTERVENTION FORMAT REDUCES CIGARETTE SMOKING SIGNIFICANTLY AMONG PARTICIPANTS IN THE STUDY, THE PROJECT WILL CONTINUE TO BE DEVELOPED IN PHASE II FOR LARGE-SCALE DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO PRODUCE INEXPENSIVE, EFFICACIOUS, AND ATTRACTIVE INTERVENTIONS THAT HELP AFRICAN-AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS STOP SMOKING AND AVOID RELAPSE. AWARDEE'S STATEMENT OF THE POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONSOF THE RESEARCH: COMPUTER-BASED INTERVENTIONS HAVE GREAT POTENTIAL FOR ATTRACTING AND INFLUENCING HARD-TO-REACH ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS WHO ARE CIGARETTE SMOKERS. THIS STUDY WILL DEVELOP AND PILOT TEST AN INTERACTIVE COMPUTER-BASED CURRICULUM FOR SMOKING CESSATION AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN YOUTH THAT IS DESIGNED TO BE CULTURALLY SENSITIVE, EMPIRICALLY VALIDATED, AND COMMERCIALLY VIABLE.