CHANGES IN CONFIDENCE AND CRAVING DURING SMOKING REDUCTION

This article reports two studies designed to explore patterns of chang e in confidence about not smoking during gradual smoking reduction. In the first study, trends in self-reported smoking, craving and confide nce were measured over baseline, 10 attendance sessions and at 2-month follow-up in a group receiving situationally tailored coping strategi es, and two comparison groups receiving either a uniform coping strate gy (relaxation therapy) or no systematic coping strategy. The coping s trategy group showed a more consistent increase in confidence, but all groups were able to cut out smoking, situation by situation, without corresponding increases in craving in other situations. In a second st udy, 60 smokers were assigned to one of three gradual reduction groups emphasizing: self-efficacy or behavioural coping skills, or a third c ontrol programme. Confidence in not smoking increased during treatment in the self-efficacy and behavioural coping groups, and initial situa tional differences in confidence had flattened out posttreatment. High er confidence at follow-up correlated significantly with lower saliva cotinine level. In conclusion, situational reduction can be accomplish ed systematically and is associated, in some subjects, with an overall increase in confidence in coping with no smoking. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.