The sequential pathway between trauma-related symptom severity and cognitive-based smoking processes through perceived stress and negative affect reduction expectancies among trauma exposed smokers

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Smoking rates are markedly higher among trauma-exposed individuals relative to non-trauma exposed individuals. Extant work suggests that both perceived stress and negative affect reduction smoking expectancies are independent mechanisms that link trauma-related symptoms and smoking. Yet, no work has examined perceived stress and negative affect reduction smoking expectancies as potential explanatory variables for the relation between trauma-related symptom severity and smoking in a sequential pathway model. Methods: Thus, the present study utilized a sample of treatment-seeking, trauma-exposed smokers (n = 363; 49.0% female) to examine perceived stress and negative affect reduction expectancies for smoking as potential sequential explanatory variables linking trauma-related symptom severity and nicotine dependence, perceived barriers to smoking cessation, and severity of withdrawal-related problems and symptoms during past quit attempts. Results: As hypothesized, perceived stress and negative affect reduction expectancies had a significant sequential indirect effect on trauma-related symptom severity and criterion variables. Conclusions and Scientific Significance: Findings further elucidate the complex pathways through which trauma-related symptoms contribute to smoking behavior and cognitions, and highlight the importance of addressing perceived stress and negative affect reduction expectancies in smoking cessation programs among trauma-exposed individuals.

Description

Keywords

Trauma, Tobacco, Perceived stress, Smoking, Smoking expectancies

Citation

Copyright 2016 The American Journal on Addictions. This is a post-print version of a published paper that is available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajad.12442/full. Recommended citation: Garey, Lorra, Mina K. Cheema, Tanveer K. Otal, Norman B. Schmidt, Clayton Neighbors, and Michael J. Zvolensky. "The Sequential Pathway Between Trauma‐Related Symptom Severity and Cognitive‐Based Smoking Processes Through Perceived Stress and Negative Affect Reduction Expectancies Among Trauma Exposed Smokers." The American Journal on Addictions 25, no. 7 (2016): 565-572. doi: 10.1111/ajad.12442. This item has been deposited in accordance with publisher copyright and licensing terms and with the author’s permission.