Objective: To analyze whether baseline need for cognition (NFC) was a predictor or a moderator of treatment outcome in a tailored letters intervention for smoking cessation.
Design: A total of 1,499 daily smokers were recruited from general medical practices in Germany within a quasi-randomized trial testing the efficacies of two brief interventions for smoking cessation: (a) computer-generated tailored letters and (b) physician-delivered brief counseling versus assessment-only. For this study, we used data from 1,097 daily smokers who were assigned to the tailored letters or the assessment-only condition.
Main outcome measures: self-reported 6-month prolonged abstinence from tobacco smoking assessed at 12-, 18-, and 24-month follow-ups, and smoking cessation self-efficacy assessed at 6- and 24-month follow-ups.
Results: Baseline NFC predicted 6-month prolonged smoking abstinence (p = .01) and smoking cessation self-efficacy (p < .01). When compared to assessment only, NFC did not moderate the effect of the tailored letters intervention on smoking abstinence (p > .05) but on smoking cessation self-efficacy (p = .05). Tailored letters resulted in higher smoking cessation self-efficacy only for persons with higher NFC.
Conclusion: Higher levels of NFC are required to increase smoking cessation self-efficacy in computer-tailored interventions for smoking cessation. Considering an individual's NFC might improve the efficacy of written interventions for smoking cessation.
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