Elsevier

Addictive Behaviors

Volume 33, Issue 11, November 2008, Pages 1409-1415
Addictive Behaviors

An evaluation of the role of smoking context on a biobehavioral index of distress tolerance

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2008.06.003Get rights and content

Abstract

The present study evaluated the effect of smoking deprivation on a biobehavioral index of distress tolerance, breath-holding duration, among 43 adult smokers in a repeated measures test (Session 1 = smoking-as-usual, Session 2 = 12-h smoking deprivation). We theorized that distress tolerance is a context-dependent individual difference variable whose expression varies prospectively, within-individuals, as a function of smoking context. As predicted, participants' breath-holding duration was significantly shorter during an experimental session that immediately followed a 12-h smoking deprivation period than during a smoking-as-usual session. Furthermore, we theorized that among individuals with a pre-existing diathesis (i.e., psychiatric symptoms), smoking deprivation may activate a vulnerability process that decreases capacity to tolerate distress; in the absence of this stressor, these psychiatrically vulnerable smokers may express variable levels of distress tolerance. As predicted, we observed that level of psychiatric symptoms was significantly negatively correlated with breath-holding duration during the smoking deprivation, but not the smoking-as-usual session. These data advance our understanding of smoking and distress tolerance and the context-dependent phenomenology of distress tolerance.

Section snippets

Participants

A total of 43 smokers (11 women; Mage = 45.3 years, SD = 12.2) were recruited through the general community in Menlo Park, CA via publicly-posted fliers in various local community settings. Fliers advertised a study related to smoking and invited smokers to contact the research team by phone. Exclusion criteria included: current suicidal ideation or plan, inability to speak or read English, or inability to provide informed consent (e.g. acutely psychotic, dementia). These exclusion criteria were

Data analytic approach

We conducted two manipulation check analyses. First, we tested the effectiveness of the experimental smoking deprivation to elicit the subjective experience of smoking deprivation as indexed by increased smoking craving. Specifically, we conducted a paired-sample t-test contrasting participants' mean levels of smoking craving in session 1 (smoking-as-usual) and session 2 (smoking deprivation). Second, we evaluated the stability of breath-holding duration between two separate breath-holding

Discussion

We observed that participants' breath-holding duration, a biobehavioral index of distress tolerance, was significantly shorter during an experimental session that immediately followed a 12-h smoking deprivation period (Day 2 session) than during a smoking-as-usual experimental session (Day 1 session). This effect was statistically significant after accounting for variance in breath-holding duration explained by changes in level of self-reported stress between sessions 1 and 2. These data help

Acknowledgement

Dr. Bernstein acknowledges that this work was supported in part by the VA Office of Academic Affairs and Health Services Research and Development Service Research funds. Drs. Trafton and Ilgen acknowledge that this project was supported by the VA Program Evaluation and Resource Center. Dr. Zvolensky acknowledges grants from the National Institutes of Health (1 R01 MH076629-01, 1 R01 DA018734-01A1, and R03 DA16307-01).

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