Effect of an Internet-based Dialectical Behaviour Therapy-informed Skills Training for Promoting Smoking Cessation and Improving Psychological Distress of Smokers: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating an internet-based Dialectical Behaviour Therapy-informed Skills Training (DBT-ST) to help adult smokers reduce or quit smoking and improve their psychological distress and emotional regulation. This pilot randomized controlled trial aims to assess the program's feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects. It also explores participants' experiences and views on the intervention's benefits and weaknesses. Participants in the intervention group will receive the DBT-ST through a free video communication app over 14 weeks. They will have two individual sessions lasting 30-45 minutes each and twelve 120-minute group therapy sessions. The control group will receive usual care, including a smoking cessation booklet with information about smoking harms, quitting strategies, available services, and a public Quitline number. They will also receive monthly general health education and sharing sessions for three months. During the study, researchers will measure smoking abstinence using biochemical tests and self-reports, psychological distress levels, quit attempts, and emotional regulation at the start and three months after the intervention. Participants will be monitored through exhaled carbon monoxide and salivary cotinine tests. The total participation period includes baseline assessments, the 14-week intervention or usual care, and a 3-month post-intervention follow-up to assess outcomes and experiences.

An Internet-based Dialectical Behaviour Therapy-informed Skills Training for Promoting Smoking Cessation and Improving Psychological Distress of Adult Smokers.