The prevalence of smoking among people with schizophrenia (SCZ) is substantially higher at 54% to 90% (McClave et al., 2010). About half of all deaths amongst people with scz are attributed to smoking-related diseases and cancer involving the lung, the cardiovascular system, and the liver (Kely et al., 2011; WHO, 2019). Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is effective for treating psychotic symptoms and addictive behaviours. In a local randomised controlled trial comparing individual ACT to social support for smoking cessation in adult scz smokers, the self-reported quit rates in ACT group were higher than in the social support group (6 months: 12.3% vs. 7.7%, p=0.56 ; 12 months: 10.8% vs. 7.7%, p=0.76; Mak, Loke, and Leung, 2021). In this study, functional neuroimaging (fMRI) will be combined with symptoms assessment in order to ascertain whether group-based ACT is effective in modifying the brain's responses in general and specifically to tobacco craving cues and resting-state functional connectivity in three time points (pre-, post-intervention, and 6-month follow-up) among people with schizophrenia.
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Biochemically validated self-reported 7-day point prevalence tobacco abstinence
Timeframe: at the 6-month post-intervention follow-up
Chinese version of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale
Timeframe: at the 6-month post-intervention follow-up
functional neuroimaging (fMRI)
Timeframe: in three time points [at baseline (T1: before the intervention), post-intervention (T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3)]