No abstract

Previous research has shown that elevated trait-impulsivity heightens the risk for initiating tobacco use and indicates that nicotine may be disproportionately rewarding for more impulsive persons. However, the influence of impulsivity on the ability to maintain nicotine abstinence has not been studied. The present study tested the hypothesis that a higher level of trait-impulsivity would predict a more rapid relapse to smoking following 48 hr of nicotine abstinence. Participants were euthymic, regular smokers (N~45), with a history of at least one major depressive episode, who participated in a paid smoking cessation study with biological challenge (tryptophan depletion). Treatment involved a 1-day skills training workshop followed by 48 hr of bioverified abstinence and weekly follow-up for 1 month. Regression analyses indicated that elevated impulsivity predicted shorter time to relapse following the workshop after controlling for treatment condition, baseline nicotine dependence, and age (b~2.39, R 2 change~.147, p~.011). Greater impulsivity predicted more rapid relapse to smoking, which mediational analyses indicated could not be explained by positive affect, negative affect, or craving. Findings suggest a need to identify alternative mechanisms to explain impulsive smokers' increased difficulty in maintaining abstinence and to develop targeted treatments that address the special needs of smokers high in impulsivity.

The authors compared simultaneous versus sequential approaches to multiple health behavior change in diet, exercise, and cigarette smoking. Female regular smokers (N = 315) randomized to 3 conditions received 16 weeks of behavioral smoking treatment, quit smoking at Week 5, and were followed for 9 months after quit date. Weight management was omitted for control and was added to the 1st 8 weeks for early diet (ED) and the final 8 weeks for late diet (LD). ED lacked lasting effect on weight gain, whereas LD initially lacked but gradually acquired a weight-suppression effect that stabilized (p = .004). Behavioral weight control did not undermine smoking cessation and, when initiated after the smoking quit date, slowed the rate of weight gain, supporting a sequential approach.

Results suggest that anhedonia may constitute a proximal risk factor identifying depressive history smokers more likely to relapse to smoking.

Aims This paper reports on a prospective test of the Acquired Preparedness Model, which posits that impulsivity influences cigarette smoking through the formation of more positive and fewer negative expectancies about smoking effects. Design College freshman never-smokers (n = 400; 45% male) completed a baseline interview and quarterly online follow-up assessments for 15 months following baseline. Findings Structural equation modeling indicated that the effects of the impulsivity components of sensation seeking and negative urgency on risk of smoking initiation were mediated by expectancies for positive and negative reinforcement from smoking, respectively. Expectancies about negative consequences from smoking predicted initiation but did not mediate the effects of sensation seeking or negative urgency. Conclusions Findings are consistent with the Acquired Preparedness Model, and suggest that heightened impulsivity is associated with heightened expectancies for reinforcement from smoking, and thus with greater risk for smoking initiation.

RationaleCigarette smoking has been linked to a number of personality characteristics, including impulsivity. Smokers tend to endorse high levels of impulsivity, and more impulsive smokers have greater difficulty quitting, but little is known about potential explanatory mechanisms. Although indirect evidence suggests craving as a candidate mechanism, direct evidence has been mixed.Materials and methodsThis study assessed whether specific aspects of impulsivity (sensation seeking, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, and urgency) were associated with cue-induced craving. Regular smokers (n = 60; 50% female) were exposed to a smoking cue and a neutral cue in a repeated measure counter-balanced design.ResultsMixed effects regression models indicated that smokers who were high in sensation seeking reported greater increases in appetitive craving after smoking cue exposure, whereas, smokers who were high in urgency and lack of perseverance reported greater increases in negative affect craving.ConclusionsFindings suggest a complex relationship between impulsivity and cue-induced craving that may be masked by single construct conceptualizations of impulsivity.

The present study tested the hypothesis that impulsivity would predict perceptions of positive and negative reinforcement from smoking. The secondary hypothesis was that the relationship between impulsivity and smoking reinforcement expectations would be mediated by the character trait of self-directedness. College students (n = 202) who reported smoking cigarettes participated in the survey study. Hierarchical regression analyses confi rmed that impulsivity predicted expectations about positive (β = .22, p = .001) and negative (β = .25, p = .001) reinforcement from smoking. These relationships were also mediated by self-directedness. Results suggest that impulsive smokers in the early stages of dependence may smoke because they expect smoking to be extremely pleasurable as well as to help dispel bouts with negative affect. Furthermore, their elevated expectations about smoking may be related to diffi culties adapting to challenging environments and working toward long-term goals.

These data suggest that increased reactivity to environmental smoking cues contributes to the link between impulsivity and smoking.