Acculturation, Depression, and Smoking Cessation: a trajectory pattern recognition approach

BACKGROUND: Korean Americans are known for a high smoking prevalence within the Asian American population. This study examined the effects of acculturation and depression on Korean Americans’ smoking cessation and abstinence. METHODS: This is a secondary data analysis of a smoking cessation study that implemented eight weekly individualized counseling sessions of a culturally adapted cessation intervention for the treatment arm and a standard cognitive behavioral therapy for the comparison arm. Both arms also received nicotine patches for 8 weeks. A newly developed non-parametric trajectory pattern recognition model (MI-Fuzzy) was used to identify cognitive and behavioral response patterns to a smoking cessation intervention among 97 Korean American smokers (81 men and 16 women). RESULTS: Three distinctive response patterns were revealed: (a) Culturally Adapted (CA), since all identified members received the culturally adapted intervention; (b) More Bicultural (MB), for having higher scores of bicultural acculturation; and (c) Less Bicultural (LB), for having lower scores of bicultural acculturation. The CA smokers were those from the treatment arm, while MB and LB groups were from the comparison arm. The LB group differed in depression from the CA and MB groups and no difference was found between the CA and MB groups. Although depression did not directly affect 12-month prolonged abstinence, the LB group was most depressed and achieved the lowest rate of abstinence (LB: 1.03%; MB: 5.15%; CA: 21.65%). CONCLUSION: A culturally adaptive intervention should target Korean American smokers with a high level of depression and a low level of biculturalism to assist in their smoking cessation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01091363. Registered 21 March 2010.