Effects of Counselor Smoking Status, Experience Level, and Treatment Modality on the Credibility of Smoking Cessation Programs

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Abstract
One hundred and seventeen smokers were presented with descriptions of a smoking control program and a smoking counselor and were then asked to rate program and counselor effectiveness and counselor empathy. The descriptions varied along three dimensions constituting a 3 × 2 × 2 factorial design: counselor smoking status—ex-smoker, current smoker, never smoker; experience level; and group or individual treatment. Counselor smoking status yielded highly significant main effects on all three dependent measures. There were no other significant main effects. Experience level tended to moderate the effects of smoking status though the interaction was significant only for program effectiveness. Responses to direct preference questions confirmed the counselor smoking status findings and indicated a preference for group over individual treatment.