Objective: The effectiveness of self-help materials may be constrained by failures to undertake recommended exercises or to deploy the techniques that one has learned at the critical moment. The present randomized controlled trial investigated whether augmenting self-help materials with if-then plans (or implementation intentions) could overcome…

Evaluated personalized feedback and financial incentives as adjuncts to self-help materials for smoking cessation among subjects (n=1,217) randomized to 4 treatment groups and followed up at 3 and 12 months. Financial incentive increased self-help material use, did not increase cessation rates, and was associated with higher relapse rates.…

Focuses on validity of measures of service delivery. Examines claims relating to benefits of attending self-help groups on mental health functioning of individuals with depression or manic depression. Discusses questions related to individual patterns of attendance, generalization of intervention's effects, and migration from "home" to other…

Forty-eight patients undergoing inpatient detoxification for alcohol dependence were assigned to either brief advice (BA) to attend Alcoholics Anonymous or a motivational enhancement for 12-step involvement (ME-12) intervention that focused on increasing involvement in 12-step self-help groups. Attendance at 12-step groups did not differ…

Evaluates the incremental effects of the use of a self-help booklet, computer-generated personalized feedback, and outreach telephone counseling in a population-based, nonvolunteer sample of smokers. Smoking status was ascertained 3, 12 and 21 months postrandomization. Overall, the telephone counseling significantly increased smoking cessation at…