title: Cigarette craving and subsequent coping responses among smoking cessation clinic participants.
abstract: Withdrawal symptoms, including craving, have been cited as common reasons for relapse into smoking. This study looked at 29 subjects enrolled in a community-based smoking cessation clinic to determine their levels of craving at 48 hours and end-of-clinic, as well as to determine those situational factors that precipitated a craving episode and the subsequent coping responses used during the first 48 hours post-cessation. Subjects completed the Shiffman-Jarvik Craving Subscale (SJCS) and the Visual Analogue Scale of Craving (VAS) to measure the severity of their cigarette craving. Data obtained from both tools were analyzed via paired t-tests. Mean difference scores on the SJCS (D = 1.42, t = 4.58, p less than 0.0002) and the VAS (D = 36.39, t = 4.46, P less than 0.0003) indicated that all subjects experienced craving during the first 48 hours after quitting, and that craving decreased significantly over a two-week period, corresponding with the end-of-clinic. Situational factors related to craving included: being at work, negative affect, and late afternoon hours. Coping responses to craving were categorized as either affective- or problem-oriented, with the former cited by subjects 73% of the time.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Steuer
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Wewers
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D012931:Social Environment; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000523:psychology