title: Intolerance for discomfort among smokers: comparison of smoking-specific and non-specific measures to smoking history and patterns.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Intolerance of discomfort associated with recent smoking cessation has been studied with only one smoking-specific questionnaire. The present study investigates the extent to which the previously validated Intolerance for Smoking Abstinence Discomfort Questionnaire (IDQ-S) scales share variance with (a) laboratory measures of distress tolerance (Paced Serial Addition Task and a breath-holding task) that have themselves been validated against smoking history, (b) the cold pressor task (not previously validated for smoking), and (c) an anxiety sensitivity questionnaire previously used for a similar purpose. The study then tests the hypothesis that the IDQ-S scales will have a higher correlation with smoking rate and dependence and with number and length of past smoking cessation attempts than with anxiety sensitivity or behavioral distress tolerance tasks do, since those measures are not smoking-specific.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty daily smokers recruited from the community completed the measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The behavioral tasks and anxiety sensitivity shared little common variance. Anxiety sensitivity correlated more highly with IDQ-S than did the behavioral tasks but only 27% of variance was shared with the IDQ-S Withdrawal Intolerance; no distress tolerance measure correlated significantly with the IDQ-S Lack of Cognitive Coping scale. Only the IDQ-S scales correlated significantly with nicotine dependence, rate and past cessation: Withdrawal Intolerance with nicotine dependence and rate, and Lack of Cognitive Coping with fewer quit attempts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The smoking-specific measure of intolerance for discomfort may be more useful in smoking research than the less specific measures of distress tolerance.
authors.affiliation: Providence VA Medical Center, 650 Chalkstone Blvd, Providence, RI 02908, USA.
authors.forename: Alan D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Sirota
authors.forename: Damaris J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Rohsenow
authors.forename: Sara L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Dolan
authors.forename: Rosemarie A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Christopher W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Kahler
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis*; D062485:Breath Holding; D003080:Cold Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D057566:Self Report; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult