Purpose Advances in military medical care have facilitated a reduction of fatalities in the global war on terror, relative to previous conflicts. The physical and psychological trauma of returning personnel remain a challenge, and poor physical and psychological health have been shown to affect quality of life (QOL). The purpose of this paper is to validate the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire amongst wounded, injured and ill military personnel, and to determine the characteristics of distinct groups found in this sample. Design/methodology/approach In total, 52 male and female military personnel (34.69+7.63 years, n=51) completed 24 items of the WHOQOL-BREF. Principal component analysis using the direct oblimin rotation was used to determine the factor structure of the WHOQOL-BREF and k-means cluster analysis was used to determine QOL characteristics of the separate groups. Findings The WHOQOL-BREF is a reliable tool for measuring QOL for American military personnel. However, the psychometric structure of the WHOQOL-BREF in this sample differed from the original domains. The first cluster analysis based on the original domains produced two clusters: a group of 12 that had poor QOL, and a group of 40 that had relatively good QOL except for the physical domain. The second cluster analysis differed in independence and access/social support only. Research limitations/implications Although the sample was small for principal component analysis, the investigators chose to proceed with this procedure, because objective indicators such as measures of sampling adequacy and communalities met or exceeded acceptable thresholds. Originality/value Rehabilitation programs for military ill, injured and wounded should contain components that promote independence and self-actualization.

Objective: Self-control is a key factor in quitting cigarettes and practicing general self-control tasks may strengthen self-control. This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of a novel smokingrelated self-control task. Method: Seventy-five adults with current cigarette smoking (M age = 44.8, 74.7% male, 63.5% Black, 74.3% non-Latinx) were randomly assigned to practice a smoking-specific self-control task (Delay Smoking Task, n = 39) or a general self-control task (Posture Task, n = 36) for 1 week. Assessments included cigarettes per day (CPD), motivation to quit smoking, self-control, and task acceptability. Results: Most participants completed both appointments with no difference between task groups ( p = .69). The Delay Smoking Task group rated the task as more difficult ( p = .04) and more helpful for quitting smoking ( p = .005) than did the Posture Task group. Selfcontrol task groups did not differ in task effort ( p = .66), task success ( p = .14), or self-control used to practice the task ( p = .13). Both task groups reported increased quit desire, expected quit success, quit confidence, and quit motivation ( p < .05; partial η 2 s = 0.108-0.333). The time by task group interaction approached significance for expected quit success ( p = .06; partial η 2 = .053), with the Delay Smoking Task group showing greater increases than the Posture Task group. Over the week, smoking decreased an average of 1.0 CPD with no difference between groups ( p = .72; partial η 2 = 0.165). Conclusions: Practicing self-control was associated with increases in motivation to quit, confidence in quitting, and expected success at quitting smoking with similar changes for those practicing a smoking-specific versus a general self-control task. Self-control tasks may be useful for increasing motivation to quit cigarettes. Public Health Significance StatementThis study found that a novel smoking-related self-control task was feasible to administer and acceptable to adults currently using cigarettes. This study found that practicing self-control was associated with increases in motivation to quit, confidence in quitting, and expected success at quitting smoking among adults currently using cigarettes with similar gains for those practicing smoking-related self-control and those practicing general self-control. The results of this study suggest that practicing self-control may be useful to increase motivation to quit smoking among adults not ready to quit smoking.

Sonia Ruíz (1) ; Michelle Ferrer (2) ; Luis Freire (2) ; Antonio Gómez (3) ; Aimee Vilaret (2) .