Schwarzer, R., & Satow, L. (2012). Online intervention engagement predicts smoking cessation. Preventive Medicine, 55: 233-236.
The study was conducted to predict smoking abstinence in internet users who may become involved in social activities within the virtual community. Higher success rates of smoking cessation were found in those who engaged in at least one virtual community activity, and the effect of initial virtual community entry on abstinence was mediated by engagement actions, including offering a donation and regular message posting. Focusing on behavioral process variables such as intervention engagement provide a viable alternative to examining personality characteristics in smoking cessation studies.