A Deposit Contract Method to Deliver Abstinence Reinforcement for Cigarette Smoking

Abstract

Eight smokers were randomly assigned to a deposit contract ($50.00) or to a no-deposit group. Using a reversal design, participants could recoup their deposit (deposit group) or earn vouchers (no-deposit group) for smoking reductions and abstinence (breath carbon monoxide [CO] < or =4 parts per million) during treatment phases. Treatment was delivered via a novel Internet-based method to monitor smoking status. Although equivalent decreases in breath CO and abstinence were observed during treatment in both groups, $178.50 in vouchers were distributed to participants in the no-deposit group, whereas a small surplus remained in the deposit group. A deposit contract method may represent a cost-effective model to deliver abstinence reinforcement for cigarette smoking.

The Behavioral Economics of Substance Use Disorders: Reinforcement Pathologies and Their Repair

“…For example, the substance user may supply a relatively large up-front sum of money to be held by a third party, which is forfeited should substance use occur. Such a deposit contract is effective at controlling behaviors involving self-control including substance use and diet and exercise (Bowers et al 1987; Dallery et al 2008; Elliott & Tighe 1968; John et al 2011; Lando 1977; Paxton 1980, 1981, 1983; Singh & Leung 1988; Volpp et al 2008; Winett 1973). As discussed above, the average substance-dependent individual has an elevated discount rate, reducing the likelihood of self-controlled choices.…”

Internet-based contingency management increases walking in sedentary adults

“…Although limited transportation to treatment centers is sometimes a practical limitation of CM, this problem is eliminated via Internet-based interventions. For example, Dallery and colleagues (Dallery & Glenn, 2005;Dallery, Glenn, & Raiff, 2007;Dallery, Meredith, & Glenn, 2008;Meredith, Grabinski, & Dallery, 2011;Reynolds, Dallery, Shroff, Patak, & Leraas, 2008;Stoops et al, 2009) employed Internet technology in which smokers submitted breath carbon monoxide (CO) samples via a web camera. Voucher-based reinforcement was contingent on breath CO levels below a cutpoint for abstinence.…”

“…Because of this, and to capitalize on the accessibility of Internet-based interventions, we adapted an Internet-based CM intervention designed for smoking cessation (Dallery & Glenn, 2005;Dallery et al, 2007Dallery et al, , 2008Meredith et al, 2011;Reynolds et al, 2008;Stoops et al, 2009) to promote physical activity. People 50 and older are both the most sedentary segment of the adult population (King, Rejeski, & Buchner, 1998;Troiano et al, 2007) and are a fast-growing group of Internet users (Marcus, Ciccolo, & Sciamanna, 2009), making them good candidates for an Internet-based CM intervention to increase activity.…”

A Mobile Game to Support Smoking Cessation: Prototype Assessment (Preprint)

“…Carbon monoxide (CO) is one method to biochemically verify abstinence; however, the half-life of CO is short (~3-6 hours), requiring at least twice daily check-ins to verify abstinence [20]. To address this barrier, Dallery and colleagues developed an efficacious CM intervention that is delivered over the Internet [11,17,21,22], in which participants are provided with a breath CO monitor, and remotely record and submit video clips of themselves providing their breath CO samples twice daily. More recently, mobile CM for smoking cessation (where participants use the camera on their smartphone to record and submit the video clips) has been shown to be feasible, acceptable, and show promise in promoting smoking abstinence [23][24][25].…”