Browsing by Subject "Cigarette smoking"
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Item Cigarette smoking: attentional mediation of anxiety as a predictor of nicotine withdrawal severity(Texas Tech University, 2007-08) Morrell, Holly E.; Cohen, Lee M.; Borrego, Joaquin P.; Harter, Stephanie; Richards, StevenAlthough a majority of cigarette smokers report that they smoke to relieve anxiety (Schneider & Houston, 1970), studies examining the anxiolytic properties of smoking have yielded equivocal results. Kassel and colleagues proposed that the anxiolytic effects of nicotine might be mediated by the presence or absence of distracting stimuli (Kassel & Shiffman, 1997; Kassel & Unrod, 2000). More specifically, Kassel and Shiffman (1997) postulated that smoking “constrains smokers’ attention to the most immediate and salient stimuli in their environment—when such stimuli are available” (p. 360). As a result, smokers are more likely to focus on immediate and distracting stimuli than more distal anxiogenic stimuli, thus reducing anxious mood. Further, smokers who rely more heavily on attentional mediation to relieve anxiety may experience more severe nicotine withdrawal, which may ultimately make it more difficult for them to quit smoking. The current study was designed to assess the degree to which attentional mediation influences the experience of self-reported nicotine withdrawal severity in a sample of 21 adult heavy smokers. Participants completed the attentional mediation paradigm, as developed by Kassel and Shiffman (1997), and then abstained from smoking for 24 hours. As expected, results indicated that anxiety and withdrawal symptoms increased during abstinence from smoking. However, the primary hypothesis was not supported: smokers who displayed greater reductions in anxiety in the presence of a distracting stimulus did not experience more severe nicotine withdrawal. These findings leave the relationship between anxiety and nicotine withdrawal open to speculation. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.Item Depressive symptoms, behavioral health risk factors, and physical illness among older Mexican Americans(2010-12) Talavera-Garza, Liza; Holahan, Charles J.; Bigler, Rebecca S.; Iscoe, Ira; Ramirez, Manuel; Warner, David C.This study utilized data from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE) at two different time points, seven years apart, to examine the relationship between physical illness and depressive symptoms in elderly Mexican Americans. The two physical illnesses studied are coronary artery disease and type II diabetes due to their high prevalence among Mexican Americans. The relationship between physical illness and depressive symptoms is examined longitudinally and prospectively, in both directions. In addition, the relationship between depressive symptoms and three behavioral health risk factors: alcohol use, cigarette smoking, and physical inactivity, at baseline is examined. The roles of gender, acculturation, nativity, and locus of control are examined as moderators of the key relationships studied. Additionally, self-rated health at baseline is examined as a predictor of physical illness and mortality at follow-up.Item Habitual aerobic exercise and smoking-associated arterial stiffening(2014-05) Park, Wonil; Tanaka, Hirofumi, Ph. D.The largest percentage of mortality from tobacco smoking is cardiovascular-related. It is not known whether regular participation in exercise mitigates the adverse influence of smoking on vasculature. The purpose of this study is to determine if regular aerobic exercise is associated with reduced arterial stiffness in young men who are cigarette smokers. Using a cross-sectional observational study design, the sample included 78 young men (22±5 years) with the following classification: sedentary smokers (n=12); physically active smokers (n=25); sedentary non-smokers (n=20); and physically active non-smokers (n=21). Arterial stiffness was assessed by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). There were no group differences in height, body fatness, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. As expected, both physically active groups demonstrated greater VO2max and lower heart rate at rest than their sedentary peers. The sedentary smokers demonstrated greater baPWV than the sedentary non-smokers (1,183±33.5 vs. 1,055±25 cm/sec). baPWV was not different between the physically-active smokers and the physically-active non-smokers (1,084±26 vs. 1,070±28.6 cm/sec). Chronic smoking is associated with arterial stiffening in sedentary men but a significant smoking-induced increase in arterial stiffness was not observed in physically active adults. These results are consistent with the idea that regular participation in physical activity may mitigate the adverse effect of smoking on the vasculature.Item The mediating role of depressive symptoms in the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and cigarette smoking(2014-05) Walsh, Elizabeth Grace; Cawthon, Stephanie W.; Carlson, Cindy I.Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including various types of abuse and other forms of household dysfunction, have been consistently linked to increased rates of health risk behaviors and negative health outcomes in adulthood. Using data from the 2010 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) annual, nationwide Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) telephone survey, this study tested whether self-reported symptoms of depression mediate the significant relationship between the number of ACEs an individual reports (expressed as an "ACE score") and whether they are a current or past smoker. A path model was produced using multiple regression, and indirect effects were tested using bootstrapping of 2000 samples. Results of analyses indicated that, among White, Asian, and Hispanic participants, self-reported depressive symptoms are indeed a significant, but only partial, mediator between participants' ACE score and their smoking status. These results suggest that for individuals of White, Hispanic, and Asian ethnicity, screening for a history of ACEs and treatment for depressive symptoms could increase the efficacy of smoking prevention efforts among youth and smoking cessation programs among adults. However, while depressive symptoms may explain some of the association between ACEs and smoking, these results suggest that other, unexamined factors also contribute to this pathway.Item Religious and non-religious coping, depressive symptoms, financial stress, and cigarette use among post-secondary vocational students(2011-05) King Horton, Karissa Diane; Loukas, Alexandra; Ellison, Christopher G.; Holahan, Carole; Pasch, Keryn; Steinhardt, MaryResearch suggests that depressive symptoms and financial stress are both associated with increased levels of cigarette smoking, yet not every individual who experiences depressive symptoms or financial stress smokes. The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether positive and negative religious coping moderated the influence of depressive symptoms and financial stress on current (past 30-day) cigarette smoking over and above the contributions of demographic covariates and nonreligious problem- and emotion-focused coping. Participants were drawn from a larger study comprised of a convenience sample of 1,120 post-secondary vocational/technical school students enrolled in programs such as welding, air-conditioning, and vocational nursing at two different two-year public colleges in Texas. These students are training to work in blue-collar occupations, which have higher smoking rates compared to white-collar occupations. Negative binomial regression analysis was used to test the study hypotheses. Depressive symptoms and financial stress increased the likelihood of smoking for female students, whereas financial stress decreased the likelihood of smoking for male students. Positive religious coping decreased the likelihood of smoking for females only. Consistent with religious coping theory and as expected, negative religious coping moderated the depressive symptoms-smoking relationship such that negative religious coping exacerbated the impact of depressive symptoms on cigarette smoking among females. Positive religious coping also moderated the depressive symptoms-cigarette smoking relationship for females. Contrary to expectations, positive religious coping exacerbated the likelihood of cigarette smoking among females with high levels of depressive symptoms. Negative religious coping moderated the financial stress-cigarette smoking relationship such that males who reported low financial stress and high levels of negative religious coping had the highest likelihood of smoking in the past month. For females, religious coping was associated with current cigarette use, but did not moderate the association between financial stress and smoking. Even after controlling for demographic covariates and nonreligious coping, positive and negative religious coping influenced the smoking behaviors of vocational students experiencing depressive symptoms and financial stress, and these outcomes varied by gender. Study limitations, implications, and suggestions for future directions in research are discussed.