PTSD AND SMOKING

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Smoking Cessation

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The objectives of the proposed study are to test whether smokers with PTSD lapse early to smoking and relapse to smoking at significantly higher rates than smokers without PTSD; and to elucidate the explanatory mediating mechanism(s) underlying the relations between PTSD and poor smoking cessation outcomes. To achieve these objectives, the proposed investigation employs a prospective design that follows a sample of 84 smokers (42 with PTSD and 42 without PTSD) for three months as they attempt to quit smoking on their own. Prior to initiating the cessation attempt, subjects will be scheduled to visit the laboratory after not smoking for a 12-hour experimental abstinence period (i.e., laboratory analogue of the early cessation attempt that is to follow). During this smoking deprivation session, subjects will complete a physical stress challenge procedure (voluntary hyperventilation). Affective processes theorized to mediate the link between PTSD and poor smoking cessation outcomes will be measured within this laboratory procedure using multi-method (subjective, physiological, and behavioral) indices. Then, one-week later, beginning on quit day and continuing at regular intervals until twelve weeks after the quit date, subjects will be prospectively evaluated within the lab to biochemically verify smoking status as well as assess smoking outcomes, affective symptoms, and withdrawal symptoms. In addition, for the initial 14 days of the cessation attempt, Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMA) will be used to prospectively measure smoking outcomes, affective symptoms, and withdrawal symptoms outside of the laboratory and within the subjects’ daily environment. The prospective laboratory assessment and EMA data will facilitate measurement of smoking cessation outcomes and the affective processes theorized to mediate the association between PTSD and those smoking outcomes.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

EU funding has supported research into the links between traumatic stress, trauma-related psychopathology and cigarette smoking/cessation. The initiative involved three inter-related studies aimed at learning more about the phenomenon's underlying bio-psycho-behavioural mechanisms.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The project 'Posttraumatic stress disorder and smoking cessation' (PTSD AND SMOKING) focused on Israel.

This is a region where conflict and war, traumatic stress, and smoking and related problems constitute a significant public health burden.In the first study, a controlled laboratory multi-method investigation tested the relations between traumatic stress, trauma-related psychopathology and responses to smoking deprivation.

The second study was a longitudinal one, tracking a community sample of smokers and non-smokers.

Both cohorts had experienced a recent traumatic stress event.

Their smoking and mental health outcomes were tracked over an 18-month period to identify and examine promising bio-psycho-behavioural risk processes.

On the basis of results from the first two studies, researchers conducted an early intervention study, again with smokers and non-smokers recently exposed to traumatic stress.

The focus was on the risk and protective processes identified in the earlier studies with respect to smoking, and substance-related and mental health outcomes.

Although data from the third study are still being analysed, scientific papers are being prepared to report on the findings.

Initial findings offer promising insights into the processes underlying trauma-related substance use and mental health problems.

These are significant from a theoretical as well as clinical perspective.

Research outcomes will prove useful for implementing innovative clinical prevention and intervention efforts.

PTSD AND SMOKING has officially ended, but its team is still working to develop and study novel intervention methods targeting the key processes examined.

These include a novel, computerised intervention methodology that targets attentional biases to threat, negative emotion and smoking cues.

Partners are also advancing a mindfulness-based intervention.

This approach targets, among others, present moment attention, cognitive processes, anxiety sensitivity and emotional distress tolerance.

Project efforts and resultant insights are generating new knowledge that can be transferred to the clinical domain.

As such, outcomes are slated to contribute not only to the literature on the topic, but also to prevention and intervention science and practice.