Erin C. Marshall

Relations Between Anxiety Sensitivity, Distress Tolerance, and Fear Reactivity to Bodily Sensations to Coping and Conformity Marijuana Use Motives Among Young Adult Marijuana Users

The present investigation examines anxiety sensitivity, distress tolerance, and fear reactivity to bodily sensations in relation to Coping and Conformity marijuana use motives among a sample of young adult marijuana users (n = 135; 46.7% women; Mage = 20.45, SD = 5.0). After controlling for current marijuana use frequency (past 30 days), daily cigarette smoking rate, average volume of alcohol used over the past year, negative affectivity, and other marijuana use motives, anxiety sensitivity was significantly and uniquely associated with Coping and Conformity motives for marijuana use. Distress tolerance evidenced significant and unique incremental relations to Coping motives, whereas fear reactivity to bodily sensations was unrelated to any marijuana use motive. These results provide novel information related to the role of emotional sensitivity and tolerance factors as they pertain to specific types of motives for marijuana use among young adults.

An evaluation of anxiety sensitivity, emotional dysregulation, and negative affectivity among daily cigarette smokers: relation to smoking motives and barriers to quitting.

The present investigation evaluated the relations between anxiety sensitivity and motivational bases of cigarette smoking, as well as barriers to quitting smoking, above and beyond concurrent substance use, negative affectivity, and emotional dysregulation among a community sample of 189 daily cigarette smokers (46% women; M(age)=24.97 years, SD=9.78). Results indicated that anxiety sensitivity was significantly related to coping, addictive, and habitual smoking motives, as well as greater perceived barriers to quitting. These effects were evident above and beyond the variance accounted for by concurrent tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use and discernable from shared variance with negative affectivity and emotional dysregulation. Emotional dysregulation was significantly related to stimulation, habitual, and sensorimotor smoking motives and greater perceived barriers to quitting, whereas negative affectivity was only significantly related to smoking for relaxation. These findings uniquely add to a growing literature suggesting anxiety sensitivity is an important and unique cognitive factor for better understanding clinically-relevant psychological processes related to cigarette smoking.

Incremental validity of anxiety sensitivity in terms of motivation to quit, reasons for quitting, and barriers to quitting among community-recruited daily smokers

The present investigation examined the relationships between anxiety sensitivity and motivation to quit smoking, barriers to smoking cessation, and reasons for quitting smoking among 329 adult daily smokers (160 females; M (age) = 26.08 years, SD = 10.92). As expected, after covarying for the theoretically relevant variables of negative affectivity, gender, Axis I psychopathology, nonclinical panic attack history, number of cigarettes smoked per day, and current levels of alcohol consumption, we found that anxiety sensitivity was significantly incrementally related to level of motivation to quit smoking as well as current barriers to quitting smoking. Partially consistent with the hypotheses, after accounting for the variance explained by other theoretically relevant variables, we found that anxiety sensitivity was significantly associated with self-control reasons for quitting smoking (intrinsic factors) as well as immediate reinforcement and social influence reasons for quitting (extrinsic factors). Results are discussed in relation to better understanding the role of anxiety sensitivity in psychological processes associated with smoking cessation.

Anxiety Sensitivity and Early Relapse to Smoking: A Test Among Mexican Daily, Low-Level Smokers

The aim of the present investigation was to extend previous work on anxiety sensitivity (AS) and early smoking relapse among a sample of 130 (74 females) young adult (M (age) = 22.5 years, SD = 2.1) daily low-level smokers (9.3 cigarettes/day, SD = 11.5) from Mexico City, Mexico. Results indicated that of the global-level and lower-order factors (i.e., physical, mental incapacitation, and social concerns) on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index, only the physical concerns factor was significantly related to early lifetime smoking relapse. This effect was observed above and beyond the effects of negative affectivity, cigarettes smoked per day, and alcohol consumption, as well as beyond the other AS mental and social concerns factors. Findings provide novel evidence that AS is an important explanatory construct in early smoking relapse.

Anxiety sensitivity and abstinence duration to smoking

Aims: The aim of the present investigation was to replicate and extend previous work on Anxiety Sensitivity (AS) and shorter abstinence duration among a sample of young adult daily smokers. Methods: Participants were 75 daily smokers who completed measures of smoking history, AS, and negative affectivity. Results: As expected, AS total score was significantly associated with increased risk of early smoking relapse; these effects were above and beyond smoking rate and negative affectivity. Conclusions: Results suggest that elevations in AS may increase the probability of abstinence duration and that this association is not attributable to negative affectivity or smoking rate.

Exploring the Mediational Role of Coping Motives for Marijuana Use in Terms of the Relation between Anxiety Sensitivity and Marijuana Dependence

This study evaluated the prediction that coping motives for marijuana use would mediate the relation between anxiety sensitivity and a marijuana dependence diagnosis after controlling for other co-occurring marijuana use motives. Participants were 136 current marijuana users (47.1% women; M(age)= 21.9, SD = 7.2). Results were consistent with a mediational effect, with the relation between anxiety sensitivity and marijuana dependence being explained by the addition of coping motives into the model. These results provide novel information related to the putative explanatory role of coping motives for marijuana use in the relation between anxiety sensitivity and marijuana dependence.

Evaluation of smoking characteristics among community-recruited daily smokers with and without posttraumatic stress disorder and panic psychopathology

The present investigation compared 123 community-recruited daily smokers with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder (PD), nonclinical panic attacks (PA), or no current Axis I psychopathology (controls; C) in terms of nicotine dependence, smoking rate, quit history, severity of symptoms during past quit attempts, and motivation for and expectancies about smoking. No differences were observed between groups in regard to smoking rate or nicotine dependence. The PTSD group reported making more lifetime quit attempts than the other groups, and the PTSD and PD groups perceived more severe symptoms during past quit attempts. The PD and PTSD groups reported greater motivation to smoke to reduce negative affect. Individuals with PTSD endorsed a stronger expectation that smoking would alleviate negative mood states and would produce negative consequences. Overall, results suggest that smokers with PD or PTSD differ from other smoking groups in a number of clinically significant ways.

Linkages between cigarette smoking outcome expectancies and negative emotional vulnerability

The present investigation examined whether smoking outcome expectancies, as measured by the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire (SCQ; [Brandon, T.H., & Baker, T.B., (1991). The Smoking Consequences Questionnaire: The subjective expected utility of smoking in college students. Psychological Assessment, 3, 484-491.]), were incrementally related to emotional vulnerability factors among an adult sample of 202 daily cigarette smokers (44.6% women; M(age)=23.78 years, SD=9.69 years). After controlling for cigarettes smoked/day, past 30-day marijuana use, current alcohol consumption, and coping style, negative reinforcement/negative affect reduction outcome expectancies were significantly associated with greater levels of negative affectivity, emotional dysregulation, and anxiety sensitivity. The observed effects for negative reinforcement/negative affect reduction also were independent of shared variance with other outcome expectancies. Negative personal consequences outcome expectancies were significantly and incrementally related to anxiety sensitivity, but not negative affectivity or emotional dysregulation. Findings are discussed in terms of the role of negative reinforcement/negative affect reduction smoking outcome expectancies and clinically-relevant negative emotional vulnerability for better understanding cigarette smoking-negative mood problems.

Panic Reactivity to Voluntary Hyperventilation Challenge Predicts Distress Tolerance to Bodily Sensations Among Daily Cigarette Smokers

The present investigation examined the extent to which panic reactivity to bodily sensations is related to distress tolerance (DT) among daily smokers. It was hypothesized that panic reactivity to an initial voluntary hyperventilation (i.e., whether participants met criteria for a DSM-IV panic attack; PA) would predict the relative degree of task persistence on a second hyperventilation trial (DT) above and beyond the variance accounted for by anxiety sensitivity (AS), negative affectivity (NA), cigarette smoking rate, and self-reported discomfort intolerance (DI). Participants were 95 daily smokers (58% women; M-sub(age) = 29.0, SD = 12.2) who completed a battery of questionnaires and two voluntary hyperventilation procedures. Results indicated PA status significantly predicted DT, above and beyond the theoretically relevant covariates of AS, NA, cigarettes per day, and DI ( p < .05). Such a result is consistent with theoretical models and empirical findings on emotional reactivity that suggest panic responsivity to internal cues may represent a key explanatory construct in terms of level of DT to interoceptive stimuli.

Anxiety sensitivity and panic reactivity to bodily sensations: relation to quit-day (acute) nicotine withdrawal symptom severity among daily smokers making a self-guided quit attempt.

The current investigation explored the main and interactive effects of panic attacks in response to laboratory-induced bodily sensations and anxiety sensitivity in predicting acute nicotine withdrawal symptoms among daily smokers making a self-guided quit attempt. Participants were 99 daily smokers (58% women; M(age) = 28.4 years, SD = 11.7) who completed a battery of questionnaires, a voluntary hyperventilation challenge, and a measure of nicotine withdrawal symptoms 12 hr after making a self-guided quit attempt. Results indicated that the interaction of anxiety sensitivity and panic responsivity to the challenge predicted quit-day nicotine withdrawal symptom severity above and beyond the main effects (p < .05). The form of the interaction indicated that the relationship between postchallenge panic attack status and acute nicotine withdrawal was more robust among individuals who were low in anxiety sensitivity. Individuals who did not experience a panic attack posthyperventilation who were also low in anxiety sensitivity reported the lowest levels of nicotine withdrawal. Results suggest that anxiety sensitivity may be less relevant with regard to acute nicotine withdrawal severity among individuals with panic-related problems.