title: Does successful smoking cessation reduce anxious arousal among treatment-seeking smokers?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is limited work that has examined the effect of quitting smoking on anxious arousal, an underlying dimension of anxiety symptoms and psychopathology.
  
  
  METHODS
  Smokers (n=185, 54.1% female) enrolled in a smoking cessation treatment trial were monitored post-cessation in terms of abstinence status (biochemically verified; at Weeks 1, 2, and Month 1 post-quit) and severity of panic-relevant symptoms (self-reported; at Month 1 and 3 post-quit). Structural equation models were conducted, adjusting for participant sex, age, treatment condition, and pre-cessation nicotine dependence, presence of depressive/anxiety disorders, anxious arousal, and anxiety sensitivity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After adjusting for covariates, participants who remained abstinent for one month (n=80; 43.2%) relative to those who did not (n=105; 56.8%) demonstrated significant reductions in anxious arousal at Month 1 (β=-.26, p=.04) and Month 3 post-quit (β=-.36, p=.006); abstinence status had a non-significant effect on anxious arousal severity at Month 3 after controlling for Month 1 anxious arousal (β=-.18, p=.09).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings align with theoretical models of smoking-anxiety interplay and suggest that smoking cessation can result in reductions in anxious arousal.
authors.affiliation: University of Houston, Department of Psychology, 126 Fred J. Heyne Building, Suite 104, Houston, TX 77204, USA. Electronic address: sgfarris@uh.edu.
authors.forename: Samantha G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Farris
authors.affiliation: Florida State University, Department of Psychology, 1107 West Call Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA.
authors.forename: Nicholas P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Allan
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Behavioral Science, 1155 Pressler Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Morales
authors.affiliation: Florida State University, Department of Psychology, 1107 West Call Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA.
authors.forename: Norman B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: University of Houston, Department of Psychology, 126 Fred J. Heyne Building, Suite 104, Houston, TX 77204, USA; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Behavioral Science, 1155 Pressler Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Zvolensky
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001143:Arousal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology*; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Hyperarousal; Prevention; Smoking cessation; Tobacco