David B Abrams
David Abrams
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Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences
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Professional overview
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Dr. David Abrams' career focuses on systems and social learning frameworks to inform population health enhancement. He has experience in testing theory, research design, measuring mechanisms of behavior change and outcome, and evaluating clinical trials (behavioral and pharmacological). His interests span topics from basic bio-behavioral mechanisms and clinical treatments to policy across risk factors and behaviors (e.g. tobacco/nicotine; alcohol, obesity, co-morbidity of medical and mental health), disease states (cancer; cardiovascular; HIV-AIDS), levels (biological, individual, organizational, worksite, community, global, and internet based), populations and disparities. His interests converge in the domain of implementation science to cost-efficiently inform evidence-based public health practice and policymaking.
Through transdisciplinary and translational research strategies, Dr. Abrams provides scientific leadership in tobacco control. His current focus is in strengthening global and United States tobacco and nicotine management strategies. Deaths of 1 billion smokers are estimated by 2100 caused overwhelmingly by use of combustible (smoked) tobacco products, not nicotine. Harm minimization is a key overarching systems strategy to speed the net public health benefit of emergent disruptive technologies for cleaner nicotine delivery. The goal is more rapid elimination of preventable deaths, disease burdens, and the widening gap in health disparities driven disproportionately by disparities in smoking.
Dr. Abrams was a professor and founding director of the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at Brown University Medical School. He then directed the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Until 2017, he was Professor of Health Behavior and Society at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the founding Executive Director of the Schroeder National Institute of Tobacco Research and Policy Studies at Truth Initiative (formerly the American Legacy Foundation).
Dr. Abrams has published over 250 peer reviewed scholarly articles and been a Principal Investigator on numerous NIH grants. He is lead author of The Tobacco Dependence Treatment Handbook: A Guide to Best Practices. He has served on expert panels at NIH and National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine on Obesity, Alcohol Misuse and Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation. He has also served on the Board of Scientific Advisors of the National Cancer Institute (NIH-NCI) and was President of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
For a complete list of Dr. Abrams' published work, click here.
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Education
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BSc (Hons), Psychology and Computer Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaMS, Clinical Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJPhD, Clinical Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJPostdoctoral Fellow, Brown Medical School, Providence, RI
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Honors and awards
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Research Laureate Award, American Academy of Health Behavior (2014)Joseph W. Cullen Memorial Award for Tobacco Research, American Society for Preventive Oncology (2008)Distinguished Alumni Award: Rutgers University, The Graduate School, New Brunswick, NJ (2007)The Musiker-Miranda Distinguished Service Award, American Psychological Association (2006)Distinguished Service Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine (2006)Outstanding Research Mentor Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine (2006)Book of the Year Award: Tobacco Dependence Treatment Handbook. American Journal of Nursing (2005)Distinguished Scientist Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine (1998)
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Areas of research and study
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Behavioral ScienceChronic DiseasesEvaluationsImplementation and Impact of Public Health RegulationsImplementation sciencePopulation HealthPublic Health PedagogyPublic Health SystemsResearch DesignSystems IntegrationSystems InterventionsTobacco ControlTranslational science
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Publications
Publications
Negative affect, stress, and smoking in college students: unique associations independent of alcohol and marijuana use
Magid, V., Colder, C., Stroud, L., Nichter, M., Nichter, M., & Abrams, D. (n.d.).Publication year
2009Journal title
Addictive BehaviorsVolume
34Issue
11Page(s)
973-5Parental smoking and adolescent smoking initiation: An intergenerational perspective on tobacco control
AbstractGilman, S. E., Rende, R., Boergers, J., Abrams, D. B., Buka, S. L., Clark, M. A., Colby, S. M., Hitsman, B., Kazura, A. N., Lipsitt, L. P., Lloyd-Richardson, E. E., Rogers, M. L., Stanton, C. A., Stroud, L. R., & Niaura, R. S. (n.d.).Publication year
2009Journal title
PediatricsVolume
123Issue
2Page(s)
e274-281AbstractOBJECTIVE. Adolescence is an important period of risk for the development of lifelong smoking behaviors. Compelling, although inconsistent, evidence suggests a relationship between parental smoking and the risk of smoking initiation during adolescence. This study investigates unresolved issues concerning the strength and nature of the association between parent smoking and offspring smoking initiation. METHODS. We enrolled 564 adolescents aged 12 to 17, along with 1 of their parents, into the New England Family Study between 2001 and 2004. Lifetime smoking histories were obtained from parents and their adolescent offspring. Discrete-time survival analysis was used to investigate the influence of parental smoking histories on the risk of adolescent smoking initiation. RESULTS. Parental smoking was associated with a significantly higher risk of smoking initiation in adolescent offspring. In addition, the likelihood of offspring smoking initiation increased with the number of smoking parents and the duration of exposure to parental smoking, suggesting a dose-response relationship between parental smoking and offspring smoking. Offspring of parents who had quit smoking were no more likely to smoke than offspring of parents who had never smoked. The effects of parental smoking on offspring initiation differed by sex (with a stronger effect of fathers' smoking on boys than girls), developmental period (with a stronger effect of parental smoking before the adolescent was age 13 than afterward), and residence of parents (with effects of fathers' smoking being dependent on living in the same household as the adolescent). Parental smoking was also associated with stronger negative reactions to adolescents' first cigarette, a potential marker of the risk of progression to higher levels of use. CONCLUSIONS. Parental smoking is an important source of vulnerability to smoking initiation among adolescents, and parental smoking cessation might attenuate this vulnerability.Personality, psychiatric disorders, and smoking in middle-aged adults
AbstractKahler, C. W., Daughters, S. B., Leventhal, A. M., Rogers, M. L., Clark, M. A., Colby, S. M., Boergers, J., Ramsey, S. E., Abrams, D. B., Niaura, R., & Buka, S. L. (n.d.).Publication year
2009Journal title
Nicotine and Tobacco ResearchVolume
11Issue
7Page(s)
833-841AbstractIntroduction: A number of personality traits have been associated with cigarette smoking. Current smokers generally show higher levels of negative emotionality and lower levels of behavioral constraint than former smokers and those who never smoked. However, prior investigations have not examined thoroughly whether these smoking-personality associations are unique to smoking status or simply reflect the fact that these personality traits tend to be elevated across numerous forms of psychopathology. Likewise, prior studies have not addressed whether personality shows differential associations with smoking based on the presence or absence of lifetime psychiatric disorders. Methods: The present study examined these questions using data from 472 current, 311 former, and 324 never-smokers aged 34-44 years. Results: Current smokers reported being more reactive to stress, more aggressive, more alienated, and less harm avoidant than both former smokers and never-smokers, whereas former smokers and never-smokers showed similar personality profiles overall. Psychiatric disorder history did not interact with smoking status in predicting personality. Controlling for differences in four major lifetime psychiatric disorders (major depression, alcohol dependence, drug dependence, and conduct disorder) reduced the differences in personality traits associated with smoking status. However, smoking status continued to relate uniquely and significantly to higher levels of negative emotionality and behavioral undercontrol with the most robust effect observed for trait alienation. Discussion: These results provide the most comprehensive depiction to date of interrelations among personality, psychopathology, and smoking and suggest an important role of personality in smoking that is not redundant with or conditional upon lifetime psychopathology.Addressing Heavy Drinking in Smoking Cessation Treatment: A Randomized Clinical Trial
AbstractKahler, C. W., Metrik, J., LaChance, H. R., Ramsey, S. E., Abrams, D. B., Monti, P. M., & Brown, R. A. (n.d.).Publication year
2008Journal title
Journal of consulting and clinical psychologyVolume
76Issue
5Page(s)
852-862AbstractHeavy alcohol use frequently co-occurs with cigarette smoking and may impede smoking cessation. This clinical trial examined whether smoking cessation treatment that incorporates brief alcohol intervention can improve smoking cessation outcomes (7-day verified point prevalence abstinence) and reduce drinks consumed per week. Heavy drinkers seeking smoking cessation treatment were assigned by urn randomization to receive, along with 8 weeks of nicotine replacement therapy, either a 4-session standard smoking cessation treatment (ST, n = 119) or standard treatment of equal intensity that incorporated brief alcohol intervention (ST-BI, n = 117). Across follow-ups over 26 weeks, participants in ST-BI reported approximately 20% fewer drinks per week (p < .027) and greater smoking abstinence (adjusted odds ratio = 1.56; 95% confidence interval = 1.01, 2.43) than did those in ST; however, effects on smoking were primarily evident at 2 weeks after quit date and were essentially absent by 16 weeks. The effect of ST-BI on smoking outcome was most robust among moderately heavy drinkers compared with that on very heavy drinkers. Integrating brief alcohol intervention into smoking cessation treatment appears feasible, but further development is needed to yield lasting effects on smoking.Cigarette smoking and the lifetime alcohol involvement continuum
AbstractKahler, C. W., Strong, D. R., Papandonatos, G. D., Colby, S. M., Clark, M. A., Boergers, J., Niaura, R., Abrams, D. B., & Buka, S. L. (n.d.).Publication year
2008Journal title
Drug and alcohol dependenceVolume
93Issue
1Page(s)
111-120AbstractGreater understanding of how alcohol use relates to the initiation, progression, and persistence of cigarette smoking is of great significance for efforts to prevent and treat smoking and excessive drinking and their substantial combined iatrogenic effects on health. Studies investigating the relationship between levels of alcohol involvement and smoking have typically been limited by analytic approaches that treat drinking behavior and alcohol use disorder diagnoses as separate phenomena rather than as indicators of a single latent alcohol involvement dimension. The purposes of the present study were (a) to create a lifetime index of alcohol involvement that integrates information about alcohol consumption and alcohol problems into a single measure and (b) to relate this index to initiation of smoking, progression from initiation to daily smoking, progression from initiation to dependence, and persistence of smoking. Rasch model analyses of data from 1508 middle-aged (34-44 years) adults showed that creating an additive index of lifetime alcohol involvement was psychometrically supported. Significant quadratic effects of alcohol involvement on initiation, progression, and persistence of smoking demonstrated that there were specific regions of the alcohol involvement continuum that were particularly strongly related to increased smoking. These results provide the most comprehensive depiction to date of the nature of the relationship between lifetime alcohol involvement and lifetime cigarette smoking and suggest potential avenues for research on the etiology and maintenance of smoking and tobacco dependence.Educational attainment and cigarette smoking: A causal association?
AbstractGilman, S. E., Martin, L. T., Abrams, D. B., Kawachi, I., Kubzansky, L., Loucks, E. B., Rende, R., Rudd, R., & Buka, S. L. (n.d.).Publication year
2008Journal title
International Journal of EpidemiologyVolume
37Issue
3Page(s)
615-624AbstractBackground: Despite abundant evidence that lower education is associated with a higher risk of smoking, whether the association is causal has not been convincingly established. Methods We investigated the association between education and lifetime smoking patterns in a birth cohort established in 1959 and followed through adulthood (n = 1311). We controlled for a wide range of potential confounders that were measured prior to school entry, and also estimated sibling fixed effects models to control for unmeasured familial vulnerability to smoking. Results: In the full sample of participants, regression analyses adjusting for multiple childhood factors (including socioeconomic status, IQ, behavioural problems, and medical conditions) indicated that the number of pack-years smoked was higher among individuals with less than high school education [rate ratio (RR) = 1.58, confidence interval (CI) = 1.31, 1.91]. However, in the sibling fixed effects analysis the RR was 1.23 (CI = 0.80, 1.93). Similarly, adjusted models estimated in the full sample showed that individuals with less than high school education had fewer short-term (RR = 0.40; CI = 0.23, 0.69) and long-term (RR = 0.59; CI = 0.42, 0.83) quit attempts, and were less likely to quit smoking (odds ratio = 0.34; CI = 0.19, 0.62). The effects of education on quitting smoking were attenuated in the sibling fixed effects models that controlled for familial vulnerability to smoking. Conclusions: A substantial portion of the education differential in smoking that has been repeatedly observed is attributable to factors shared by siblings that contribute to shortened educational careers and to lifetime smoking trajectories. Reducing disparities in cigarette smoking, including educational disparities, may therefore require approaches that focus on factors early in life that influence smoking risk over the adult life span.Interdisciplinarity and Systems Science to Improve Population Health. A View from the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research
AbstractMabry, P. L., Olster, D. H., Morgan, G. D., & Abrams, D. B. (n.d.).Publication year
2008Journal title
American journal of preventive medicineVolume
35Issue
2Page(s)
S211-224AbstractFueled by the rapid pace of discovery, humankind's ability to understand the ultimate causes of preventable common disease burdens and to identify solutions is now reaching a revolutionary tipping point. Achieving optimal health and well-being for all members of society lies as much in the understanding of the factors identified by the behavioral, social, and public health sciences as by the biological ones. Accumulating advances in mathematical modeling, informatics, imaging, sensor technology, and communication tools have stimulated several converging trends in science: an emerging understanding of epigenomic regulation; dramatic successes in achieving population health-behavior changes; and improved scientific rigor in behavioral, social, and economic sciences. Fostering stronger interdisciplinary partnerships to bring together the behavioral-social-ecologic models of multilevel "causes of the causes" and the molecular, cellular, and, ultimately, physiological bases of health and disease will facilitate breakthroughs to improve the public's health. The strategic vision of the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is rooted in a collaborative approach to addressing the complex and multidimensional issues that challenge the public's health. This paper describes OBSSR's four key programmatic directions (next-generation basic science, interdisciplinary research, systems science, and a problem-based focus for population impact) to illustrate how interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspectives can foster the vertical integration of research among biological, behavioral, social, and population levels of analysis over the lifespan and across generations. Interdisciplinary and multilevel approaches are critical both to the OBSSR's mission of integrating behavioral and social sciences more fully into the NIH scientific enterprise and to the overall NIH mission of utilizing science in the pursuit of fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to extend healthy life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability.Lifetime characteristics of participants and non-participants in a smoking cessation trial: Implications for external validity and public health impact
AbstractGraham, A. L., Papandonatos, G. D., DePue, J. D., Pinto, B. M., Borrelli, B., Neighbors, C. J., Niaura, R., Buka, S. L., & Abrams, D. B. (n.d.).Publication year
2008Journal title
Annals of Behavioral MedicineVolume
35Issue
3Page(s)
295-307AbstractBackground: Detailed information about the characteristics of smokers who do and do not participate in smoking cessation treatment is needed to improve efforts to reach, motivate, and treat smokers. Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore a broad range of characteristics related to participation in a smoking cessation trial. Methods: Eligible smokers were recruited from a longitudinal birth cohort. Participants and non-participants were compared on a broad range of sociodemographics, smoking, psychiatric and substance abuse disorders, personality, and prospective measures from early childhood. Eligible smokers were compared to a matched regional subsample of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Results: Few differences were observed, most of which were statistically significant but not clinically meaningful. Compared to non-participants, participants were more likely to be single, have lower income, be more nicotine-dependent, be more motivated to quit, and have higher levels of depressed mood and stress even after covariance of gender, income, and marital status. Sociodemographic differences between participants and the BRFSS sample reflect the skew toward lower socioeconomic status in the original birth cohort. Conclusions: The encouraging conclusion is that smokers who enroll in cessation trials may not differ much from non-participants. Information about treatment participants can inform the development of recruitment strategies, improve the tailoring of treatment to individual smoker profiles, help to estimate potential selection bias, and improve estimates of population impact.Moderators of naltrexone's effects on drinking, urge, and alcohol effects in non-treatment-seeking heavy drinkers in the natural environment
AbstractTidey, J. W., Monti, P. M., Rohsenow, D. J., Gwaltney, C. J., Miranda, R., McGeary, J. E., MacKillop, J., Swift, R. M., Abrams, D. B., Shiffman, S., & Paty, J. A. (n.d.).Publication year
2008Journal title
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental ResearchVolume
32Issue
1Page(s)
58-66AbstractBackground: Naltrexone (NTX) has proven to be effective with alcoholics in treatment, with most controlled clinical trials showing beneficial effects on heavy drinking rates. However, little is known about the behavioral mechanisms underlying the effects of NTX on drinking, or about patient characteristics that may moderate NTX's effects on drinking. In this study, ecological momentary assessment (EMA) techniques were used to investigate some of the putative mechanisms of naltrexone's effects on drinking in heavy drinkers who were not seeking treatment for alcohol problems. Polymorphisms in the D4 dopamine receptor (DRD4) gene and the μ-opiate receptor (OPRM1) gene, family history of alcohol problems, age of onset of alcoholism and gender were explored as potential moderators of NTX's effects. Methods: After a 1-week placebo lead-in period, heavy drinkers (n = 180), 63% of whom were alcohol-dependent, were randomized to 3 weeks of daily naltrexone (50 mg) or placebo. Throughout the study, participants used EMA on palm-pilot computers to enter, in real time, drink data, urge levels, and subjective effects of alcohol consumption. Results: Naltrexone reduced percentage drinking days in all participants and reduced percent heavy drinking days in DRD4-L individuals; NTX decreased urge levels in participants with younger age of alcoholism onset; NTX increased time between drinks in participants who had more relatives with alcohol problems; and NTX reduced the stimulating effects of alcohol in women. OPRM1 status did not moderate any of NTX's effects. Conclusions: These results confirm earlier findings of NTX's effects on drinking and related subjective effects, and extend them by describing individual difference variables that moderate these effects in the natural environment, using data collected in real time.Tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among first-year U.S. college students: A time series analysis
AbstractDierker, L., Stolar, M., Lloyd-Richardson, E., Tiffany, S., Flay, B., Collins, L., Nichter, M., Nichter, M., Bailey, S., Clayton, R., Abrams, D., Balster, R., Dahl, R., Giovino, G., Henningfield, J., Koob, G., McMahon, R., Merikangas, K., Shiffman, S., … Stroud, L. (n.d.).Publication year
2008Journal title
Substance Use and MisuseVolume
43Issue
5Page(s)
680-699AbstractThe present study sought to evaluate the day-to-day patterns of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among first-year college students in the United States. Using 210 days of weekly time-line follow-back diary data collected in 2002 to 2003, the authors examined within-person patterns of use. The sample was 48% female and 90% Caucasian. Sixty-eight percent of the participants were permanent residents of Indiana. Univariate time series analysis was employed to evaluate behavioral trends for each substance across the academic year and to determine the predictive value of day-to-day substance use. Some of the most common trends included higher levels of substance use at the beginning or end of the academic year. Use on any given day could be predicted best from the amount of corresponding substance use 1 day prior. Conclusions: Although universal intervention might best be focused in the earliest weeks on campus and at the end of the year when substance use is at its highest, the diversity of substance use trajectories suggests the need for more targeted approaches to intervention. Study limitations are noted.Trajectories of smoking among freshmen college students with prior smoking history and risk for future smoking: Data from the University Project Tobacco Etiology Research Network (UpTERN) study
AbstractColder, C. R., Flay, B. R., Segawa, E., Hedeker, D., Abrams, D. B., Agnew, C., Balster, R. L., Clayton, R. R., Collins, L. M., Dahl, R. E., Dierker, L. C., Donny, E. C., Dorn, L., Eissenberg, T., Flaherty, B. P., Giovino, G. A., Henningfield, J., Koob, G. F., Liang, L., … Tiffany, S. (n.d.).Publication year
2008Journal title
AddictionVolume
103Issue
9Page(s)
1534-1543AbstractAims: Little is known about smoking during the transition to college. The current study examined trajectories of smoking among college freshmen, how trajectories predicted later smoking and the social context of smoking. Design: Weekly assessments of daily smoking were collected via the web during the first year of college for a large cohort with a previous history of smoking. Participants and setting: A total of 193 college freshmen from a large public university with a previous history of smoking who smoked frequently enough to be included in trajectory analysis. Measurements: Measures included weekly reports of daily smoking, family smoking, perceived peer attitudes and smoking, social norms and social smoking environment. Findings: Seven trajectories were identified: one of low-level sporadic smoking, one of low-level smoking with a small increase during the year, two classes with a substantial decrease during the year, two classes with relatively small decreases and one class with a substantial increase in smoking. Trajectories of smoking in the freshman year predicted levels of sophomore year smoking, and some social context variables tended to change as smoking increased or decreased for a given trajectory class. Conclusions: The transition into college is marked by changes in smoking, with smoking escalating for some students and continuing into the sophomore year. Shifts in social context that support smoking were associated with trajectories of smoking. Despite the focus of developmental models on smoking in early adolescence, the transition into college warrants further investigation as a dynamic period for smoking.Bupropion and cognitive-behavioral treatment for depression in smoking cessation
AbstractBrown, R. A., Niaura, R., Lloyd-Richardson, E. E., Strong, D. R., Kahler, C. W., Abrantes, A. M., Abrams, D., & Miller, I. W. (n.d.).Publication year
2007Journal title
Nicotine and Tobacco ResearchVolume
9Issue
7Page(s)
721-730AbstractThis study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial examining the effects of an intensive cognitive-behavioral mood management treatment (CBTD) and of bupropion, both singularly and in combination, on smoking cessation in adult smokers. As an extension of our previous work, we planned to examine the synergistic effects of CBTD and bupropion on smoking cessation outcomes in general and among smokers with depression vulnerability factors. Participants were 524 smokers (47.5% female, Mage=44.27 years) who were randomized to one of four 12-week treatments: (a) standard, cognitive-behavioral smoking cessation treatment (ST) plus bupropion (BUP), (b) ST plus placebo (PLAC), (c) standard cessation treatment combined with cognitive-behavioral treatment for depression (CBTD) plus BUP, and (d) CBTD plus PLAC. Follow-up assessments were conducted 2, 6, and 12 months after treatment, and self-reported abstinence was verified biochemically. Consistent with previous studies, bupropion, in comparison with placebo, resulted in better smoking outcomes in both intensive group treatments. Adding CBTD to standard intensive group treatment did not result in improved smoking cessation outcomes. In addition, neither CBTD nor bupropion, either alone or in combination, was differentially effective for smokers with single-past-episode major depressive disorder (MDD), recurrent MDD, or elevated depressive symptoms. However, findings with regard to recurrent MDD and elevated depressive symptoms should be interpreted with caution given the low rate of recurrent MDD and the low level of depressive symptoms in our sample. An a priori test of treatment effects in smokers with these depression vulnerability factors is warranted in future clinical trials.Comprehensive Smoking Cessation: Systems Integration to Save Lives and Money
Abrams, D. (n.d.). In Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation (1–).Publication year
2007Page(s)
A1-A50Applying transdisciplinary research strategies to understanding and eliminating health disparities
AbstractAbrams, D. B. (n.d.).Publication year
2006Journal title
Health Education and BehaviorVolume
33Issue
4Page(s)
515-531AbstractThis overview for the special issue of Health Education & Behavior on "Health Disparities and Social Inequities" briefly outlines the transdisciplinary (TD) approach to research and examines the scope of TD science. The need to embrace basic science as well as several domains of applied research is discussed along the TD "pipeline" from discovery to development to delivery to policy. The overview concludes with selected examples of the emerging TD science of disparities. One central challenge for a TD approach is the need to strengthen what is being called "the science of dissemination" along with improving the "dissemination of evidence-based science.".Characteristics of smokers reached and recruited to an internet smoking cessation trial: A case of denominators
AbstractGraham, A. L., Bock, B. C., Cobb, N. K., Niaura, R., & Abrams, D. B. (n.d.).Publication year
2006Journal title
Nicotine and Tobacco ResearchVolume
8Page(s)
S43-48AbstractThe Internet can deliver smoking cessation interventions to large numbers of smokers. Little is known about the feasibility, reach, or efficacy of Internet cessation interventions. Virtually no data exist on who enrolls in cessation programs or on differences between those who complete enrollment and those who do not. This paper reports recruitment and enrollment findings for the first 764 participants in an ongoing randomized controlled trial that tested the efficacy of a widely disseminated Internet smoking cessation service (www.QuitNet.com) alone and in conjunction with telephone counseling. Study participants were recruited through Internet search engines using an active user sampling protocol. During the first 16 weeks of the study, 28,297 individuals were invited. Of those, 11,147 accepted the invitation, 5,557 screened eligible, 3,614 were recruited, 1,489 provided online informed consent, and 764 were confirmed eligible and enrolled. Of those who were at least curious about a cessation trial (n=11,147), 6.9% enrolled. Of those who were eligible and recruited (n=3,614), 21.1% enrolled. Depending on the denominator selected, results suggest that 7% to 21% of smokers interested in cessation will enroll into a research trial. Internet recruitment provides unique challenges and opportunities for managing sample recruitment, analyzing subsamples to determine generalizability, and understanding the characteristics of individuals who participate in online research.Correlates of motivation to quit smoking among alcohol dependent patients in residential treatment
AbstractMartin, R. A., Rohsenow, D. J., MacKinnon, S. V., Abrams, D. B., & Monti, P. M. (n.d.).Publication year
2006Journal title
Drug and alcohol dependenceVolume
83Issue
1Page(s)
73-78AbstractSubstance use and smoking co-occur at high rates and substance abusers smoke more and have greater difficulty quitting smoking compared to the general population. Methods of increasing smoking cessation among alcoholics are needed to improve their health. This study investigated predictors of motivation to quit smoking among patients early in residential treatment for substance abuse. The 198 alcohol dependent patients were participating is a larger smoking study at an inner-city residential substance abuse treatment program. Motivation was measured by the Contemplation Ladder. A hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to assess whether perceived barriers to smoking cessation and self-efficacy about quitting were associated with motivation to quit smoking independent of the influence of degree of tobacco involvement, substance use, and comorbid depressive symptoms. Motivation was higher with longer previous smoking abstinence, fewer barriers to quitting, and greater self-efficacy but was not influenced by smoking rate, dependence, or gender. While the combination of alcohol and drug use, alcohol and drug problem severity, and depressive symptoms predicted motivation, no one of these variables was significant. Since barriers to change and self-efficacy are potentially modifiable in treatment, these could be salient targets for intervention efforts. This could be integrated into treatment by assessing barriers and providing corrective information about consequences and methods of overcoming barriers and by providing coping skills to increase confidence in one's ability to quit smoking.External validity: We need to do more
Glasgow, R. E., Green, L. W., Klesges, L. M., Abrams, D. B., Fisher, E. B., Goldstein, M. G., Hayman, L. L., Ockene, J. K., & Orleans, C. T. (n.d.).Publication year
2006Journal title
Annals of Behavioral MedicineVolume
31Issue
2Page(s)
105-108Internet- vs. Telephone-administered questionnaires in a randomized trial of smoking cessation
AbstractGraham, A. L., Papandonatos, G. D., Bock, B. C., Cobb, N. K., Baskin-Sommers, A., Niaura, R., & Abrams, D. B. (n.d.).Publication year
2006Journal title
Nicotine and Tobacco ResearchVolume
8Page(s)
S49-57AbstractThe Internet offers a promising channel to conduct smoking cessation research. Among the advantages of Internet research are the ability to access large numbers of participants who might not otherwise participate in a cessation trial, and the ability to conduct research efficiently and cost-effectively. To leverage the opportunity of the Internet in clinical research, it is necessary to establish that measures of known validity used in research trials are reliable when administered via the Internet. To date, no published studies examine the psychometric properties of measures administered via the Internet to assess smoking variables and psychosocial constructs related to cessation (e.g., stress, social support, quit methods). The purpose of the present study was to examine the reliability of measures of previous quit methods, perceived stress, depression, social support for cessation, smoking temptations, alcohol use, perceived health status, and income when administered via the Internet. Participants in the present study were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of the efficacy of Internet smoking cessation. Following baseline telephone assessment and randomization into the parent trial, participants were recruited to the reliability substudy. An email was sent 2 days after the telephone assessment with a link to the Internet survey and instructions to complete the survey that day. Of the 297 individuals invited to participate, 213 completed the survey within 1 week. Results indicate that the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the measures examined are comparable when self-administered via the Internet or when interviewer-administered via telephone.The proximal association between smoking and alcohol use among first year college students
AbstractDierker, L., Lloyd-Richardson, E., Stolar, M., Flay, B., Tiffany, S., Collins, L., Bailey, S., Nichter, M., Nichter, M., Clayton, R., Abrams, D., Balster, R., Dahl, R., Giovino, G., Henningfield, J., Koob, G., McMahon, R., Merikangas, K., Shiffman, S., … Stroud, L. (n.d.).Publication year
2006Journal title
Drug and alcohol dependenceVolume
81Issue
1Page(s)
1-9AbstractObjective: This study was undertaken to evaluate the association between patterns of day-to-day smoking and drinking among first year college students. Method: Using 210 days of weekly time-line follow-back diary data, the authors examined the within-person relationships between smoking and drinking. Bivariate time series procedures were utilized. Results: Findings revealed a high degree of significant cross-correlations between smoking and drinking in which the amount of use of one substance could be predicted by current, as well as past and future use of the other. For the majority of participants, smoking and drinking were positively associated with the alternate behavior. The most common pattern of prediction for individuals was within day (i.e. synchronous correlations). When examining rates of individuals showing significant cross-correlations according to their level of either smoking or drinking, those smoking less than one cigarette on average per day were found to be less likely to demonstrate a synchronous cross-correlation between the two behaviors than those smoking at higher rates. No significant association was found between level of drinking and the rate of significant synchronous cross-correlations between smoking and drinking. Conclusions: Reports of daily behavior over long periods of time have the potential to provide insight into the more proximal influences of smoking and alcohol use on one another. Future research is needed to establish the specific factors (i.e. third variables) and related mechanisms that may drive both behaviors.Home health care nurses as a new channel for smoking cessation treatment: Outcomes from project CARES (Community-nurse Assisted Research and Education on Smoking)
AbstractBorrelli, B., Novak, S., Hecht, J., Emmons, K., Papandonatos, G., & Abrams, D. (n.d.).Publication year
2005Journal title
Preventive MedicineVolume
41Issue
5Page(s)
815-821AbstractBackground. Clinical guidelines for smoking cessation may not be sufficient for helping some subgroups of smokers quit. Incorporating smoking cessation into home-based medical care can proactively reach high-risk smokers who may not have access to (or spontaneously seek) smoking cessation. Method. Home health care nurses (N = 98) were randomly assigned to deliver either Motivational Enhancement (ME; Motivational Interviewing + Carbon Monoxide Feedback) or Standard Care (AHCPR Guidelines for smoking cessation) to their patients. Seventy percent of patients were eligible and willing to participate (N = 273; 54% female, mean age = 57 years, 83% Caucasian, 41% < high school education). The study was conducted in Providence, RI, USA from 1998 to 2003. Results. Biochemically verified continuous abstinence rates at the 12-month follow-up were 4.2% (SC) and 8.7% (ME) for intent to treat analyses, and 5.2% (SC) and 11.8% (ME) using all available cases (P > 0.05). ME reported more quit attempts and significantly greater reductions in the number of cigarettes smoked per day at all follow-ups through 12 months of post-treatment (all P values < 0.05). Conclusions. Use of an existing public health channel such as home health care to reach smokers who vary in their motivation to quit could have the potential for large public health impact.Initial evaluation of a real-world internet smoking cessation system
AbstractCobb, N. K., Graham, A. L., Bock, B. C., Papandonatos, G., & Abrams, D. B. (n.d.).Publication year
2005Journal title
Nicotine and Tobacco ResearchVolume
7Issue
2Page(s)
207-216AbstractTo significantly reduce smoking prevalence, treatments must balance reach, efficacy, and cost. The Internet can reach millions of smokers cost-effectively. Many cessation Web sites exist, but few have been evaluated. As a result, the potential impact of the Internet on smoking prevalence remains unknown. The present study reports the results, challenges, and limitations of a preliminary, large-scale evaluation of a broadly disseminated smoking cessation Web site used worldwide (QuitNet). Consecutive registrants (N=1,501) were surveyed 3 months after they registered on the Web site to assess 7-day point prevalence abstinence. Results must be interpreted cautiously because this is an uncontrolled study with a 25.6% response rate. Approximately 30% of those surveyed indicated they had already quit smoking at registration. Excluding these participants, an intention-to-treat analysis yielded 7% point prevalence abstinence (for the responders only, abstinence was 30%). A range of plausible cessation outcomes (9.8%-13.1%) among various subgroups is presented to illustrate the strengths and limitations of conducting Web-based evaluations, and the tensions between clinical and dissemination research methods. Process-to-outcome analyses indicated that sustained use of QuitNet, especially the use of social support, was associated with more than three times greater point prevalence abstinence and more than four times greater continuous abstinence. Despite its limitations, the present study provides useful information about the potential efficacy, challenging design and methodological issues, process-to-outcome mechanisms of action, and potential public health impact of Internet-based behavior change programs for smoking cessation.Reducing the cancer burden of lifestyle factors: Opportunities and challenges of the internet
AbstractGraham, A. L., & Abrams, D. B. (n.d.).Publication year
2005Journal title
Journal of medical Internet researchVolume
7Issue
3AbstractThis paper focuses on the Internet as a tool for enhancing behavior and lifestyle changes to reduce the burden of cancer at a population level. The premise of this paper is that the Internet can and should be leveraged to bridge the chasm between basic science, clinical trials, and public health. Our focus is specifically on the opportunity to disseminate effective behavioral science interventions via the Internet in order to decrease the prevalence of behavioral risk factors for cancer. The examples herein are primarily drawn from tobacco use to illustrate issues that can be applied more generally to other behavioral risk factors for cancer. Four areas will be addressed: (1) the scientific basis and rationale for delivering lifestyle behavior change interventions via the Internet; (2) the need to determine the quality of Internet interventions; (3) methodological considerations in conducting evaluations of Internet interventions; and (4) recommendations for a transdisciplinary approach to Internet intervention development and evaluation.The efficacy of moderate intensity exercise as an aid for smoking cessation in women: A randomized controlled trial
AbstractMarcus, B. H., Lewis, B. A., Hogan, J., King, T. K., Albrecht, A. E., Bock, B., Parisi, A. F., Niaura, R., & Abrams, D. B. (n.d.).Publication year
2005Journal title
Nicotine and Tobacco ResearchVolume
7Issue
6Page(s)
871-880AbstractEvidence suggests that vigorous-intensity exercise interventions may be effective for smoking cessation among women; however, few studies have examined the efficacy of a moderate-intensity exercise program. The present study examined the efficacy of moderate-intensity exercise for smoking cessation among female smokers. Healthy, sedentary female smokers (N = 217) were randomly assigned to an 8-week cognitive-behavioral smoking cessation program plus moderate-intensity exercise (CBT+EX) or to the same cessation program plus equal contact (CBT). A subsample received nicotine replacement therapy. Results indicated that the CBT+EX and CBT groups were equally likely to attain smoking cessation at the end of treatment, as measured by cotinine-verified 7-day point-prevalence abstinence (20.2% for CBT+EX vs. 18.5% for CBT). The CBT+EX group was more likely to report smoking cessation, as measured by 7-day point prevalence at the 3-month follow-up (11.9% vs. 4.6%, p<.05), composed with the CBT group. No group diffrences were found at 12 months by either 7-day point prevalence (7.3% for CBT+EX vs. 8.3% for CBT) or continuous abstinence (0.9% for CBT+EX vs. 0.9% for CBT). Additionally, among participants in the CBT+EX group, those with higher to the exercise prescription were significantly more likely to achieve smoking cessation at the end of treatment than were participants reporting lower adherence to exercise our findings indicate that the emperical support for moderate-intensity exercise as an adjunctive treatment to CBT for smoking cessation may be limited. Perhaps future studies could compare moderate vs. vigorous-intensity physical activity to test their relative efficacy.Adolescents' responses to the gender valence of cigarette advertising imagery: The role of affect and the self-concept
AbstractShadel, W. G., Niaura, R., & Abrams, D. B. (n.d.).Publication year
2004Journal title
Addictive BehaviorsVolume
29Issue
9Page(s)
1735-1744AbstractThe studies presented in this manuscript evaluated the role that affect and the self-concept play in adolescent never smokers' reactions to the gender valence of cigarette advertising imagery. Study 1 (n=29; 59% female) revealed that adolescent females have more positive affective reactions to female-valenced cigarette advertising imagery compared to male-valenced cigarette advertising imagery. Study 2 (n=101; 56% female) revealed that adolescent females viewed female-valenced cigarette advertising imagery as more relevant to their self-concepts compared to male-valenced cigarette advertising imagery. Across both studies, male adolescents did not respond differently as a function of the gender valence of cigarette advertising imagery. Thus, female-valenced cigarette advertising imagery may have specific effects on never smoking female adolescents by enhancing positive affect and suggesting that women who smoke hold the same characteristics as do the young women themselves.Developing an integrative social-cognitive strategy for personality assessment at the level of the individual: An illustration with regular cigarette smokers
AbstractShadel, W. G., Cervone, D., Niaura, R., & Abrams, D. B. (n.d.).Publication year
2004Journal title
Journal of Research in PersonalityVolume
38Issue
4Page(s)
394-419AbstractBasic advances in social cognition have not fully translated into similar advances for personality assessment. In this study, we evaluated whether an integrated social cognitive approach to personality assessment (i.e., one that employs an idiographic assessment of a multi-faceted self-system, priming procedures, and reaction time tasks) could be applied to assess a social cognitive personality system at the individual level in a particularly challenging population: Cigarette smokers. This integrative approach was necessary to detect the idiosyncratic content and contextualized structure of the three self-schemas (smoker self-schema, abstainer ideal possible self, abstainer ought possible self) that composed this social cognitive personality system. Priming different self-structures enhanced reaction times to contextually bound self-referent information. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for social cognitive theories of personality and personality assessment.