Smoking, arousal, and affect: the role of anxiety sensitivity.
OBJECTIVE
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.


METHODS
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.
Evatt
Daniel P
DP
University of Illinois at Chicago, Behavioral Sciences Building (MC 285), Chicago, IL 60607, United States. devatt1@jhmi.edu
Kassel
Jon D
JD
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D001143:Arousal; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors