Smoking, arousal, and affect: The role of anxiety sensitivity

Abstract Purpose Despite evidence that smoking elevates peripheral autonomic nervous system activity, cigarette smokers commonly report smoking to reduce negative affect, or “calm down.” Studies suggest that anxiety sensitivity is positively associated with the use of anxiolytic substances, but anxi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of anxiety disorders 2010-01, Vol.24 (1), p.114-123
Main Authors: Evatt, Daniel P, Kassel, Jon D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictive behaviors
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Affect
Analysis of Variance
Anxiety
Anxiety - psychology
Anxiety disorders. Neuroses
Anxiety sensitivity
Arousal
Biological and medical sciences
Electrocardiography
Female
Galvanic Skin Response - physiology
Heart Rate - physiology
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests
Perception - physiology
Personality Inventory
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Selfreport
Sensitivity
Sex Factors
Smoking
Smoking - psychology
Stress
Stress, Psychological - psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Time Factors
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco, tobacco smoking
Toxicology
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Summary:Abstract Purpose Despite evidence that smoking elevates peripheral autonomic nervous system activity, cigarette smokers commonly report smoking to reduce negative affect, or “calm down.” Studies suggest that anxiety sensitivity is positively associated with the use of anxiolytic substances, but anxiety sensitivity is also characterized by aversive responding to elevations in physiological arousal. As such, anxiety sensitivity may be an important factor in the study of smoking, affect, and arousal. Method Smokers smoked cigarettes in two experimental sessions: a Stressful Speech Condition and a No Stress Condition. Psychophysiological and self-report served as within-subjects, repeated measures. Results Findings revealed that smoking reduced anxiety in high anxiety sensitive smokers who smoked during a stressful situation, but not a no stress situation. Low anxiety sensitive smokers endorsed anxiolysis in both conditions. Conclusions Results suggest that high anxiety sensitive smokers may be sensitive to the physiologically arousing effects of smoking in low stress, low arousal, situations.
ISSN:0887-6185
1873-7897
DOI:10.1016/j.janxdis.2009.09.006