Reactivity of self-monitoring cigarette smoking and the effect of pretest stage of change -

Abstract

Self-monitoring refers to the systematic independent monitoring and subsequent recording of the occurrence or non-occurrence of one’s own behavior, while reactivity refers to the spontaneous change in the behavior’s frequency as a result of self-monitoring. Reactivity of self-monitoring has been documented within a variety of contexts, such as psychiatric disorder symptoms and athletic performance, and with a multitude of behaviors-processes, such as anxiety, type of swimming stroke, and cigarette smoking. Numerous factors have been found to affect the direction and magnitude of reactive self-monitoring, such as the individual’s expectation concerning the effect of self-monitoring, and motivation with respect to changing the behavior in question. The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) puts forth that behavior change occurs over increments called stages of change. The present study examined the reactivity of self-monitoring in cigarette smoking, and the effect of pretest stage of change in an undergraduate sample of 71 current smokers at the American University of Beirut (AUB), by having the participants self-monitor their daily cigarette smoking over two weeks. This experimental randomized-controlled trial followed a 2 (self-monitoring, waitlist control) by 2 (stage of change: precontemplation, contemplation) by 2 (time: pretest, posttest) mixed factorial design. The outcome variable was percent change in daily average cigarette smoking, and was analyzed using a two-way independent ANOVA. Results showed no significant main effect of group allocation, nor a significant interaction effect between group allocation and stage of change. Some additional exploratory analyses were also examined. Results, limitations, and future directions are discussed.