Distress tolerance and early smoking lapse.
A significant percentage of smokers attempting cessation lapse to smoking within a matter of days and very few of these individuals recover to achieve abstinence. Current models of relapse devote insufficient attention to this phenomenon of early smoking lapse. Furthermore, studies attempting to relate severity of nicotine withdrawal symptoms to short-term smoking cessation outcomes have yielded equivocal results. The authors argue that how one reacts to the discomfort of nicotine withdrawal is a more promising avenue of investigation than severity of withdrawal and that inability to tolerate the distress of nicotine withdrawal and associated negative affect is a key factor in early smoking lapse and subsequent relapse. Theoretical and clinical implications of distress tolerance in smoking cessation are discussed and the development of a specialized and novel behavioral distress tolerance treatment for early smoking lapsers is proposed.
Brown
Richard A
RA
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Butler Hospital/Brown Medical School, 345 Blackstone Blvd., Providence, RI 02906, USA. Richard_Brown@Brown.edu
Lejuez
C W
CW
Kahler
Christopher W
CW
Strong
David R
DR
Zvolensky
Michael J
MJ
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D009538:Nicotine / Q000009:adverse effects; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*
D009538:Nicotine