Katherine J. Ameringer

Applying the Tripartite Model of Anxiety and Depression to Cigarette Smoking: An Integrative Review

INTRODUCTION Research on the relationship between emotional disorders and smoking often characterizes anxiety and depression at the broad syndrome level. Because of the complex concordance and discordance across and within anxiety and depressive symptoms, research using this approach may be limited. Watson and Clark developed the tripartite model of anxiety and depression, which identifies negative affect (NA), anhedonia and low positive affect (PA), and anxious arousal (AA) as traits that characterize the underlying heterogeneity in emotional symptoms. An emerging literature has examined the relation between the affective constructs in the tripartite model and smoking; however, these findings have not been summarized and integrated. The aim of this report reviews the literature on the association between tripartite affective dimensions (anhedonia and low PA, NA, and AA) and smoking variables (smoking status, heaviness, chronicity, dependence, cessation, craving/urge). METHODS Qualitative summarization and integration of findings. RESULTS All three dimensions were consistently associated with smoking status but demonstrated mixed or no relationship with smoking heaviness, chronicity, and dependence. Low PA and anhedonia consistently associated with craving and relapse, even in studies that controlled for other dimensions. Emotional disturbance on multiple dimensions (e.g., low PA + high NA) was associated with disproportionate increases in smoking risk in several studies. CONCLUSIONS Tripartite dimensions may each have differential effects on smoking. Anhedonic and low PA individuals (especially those with concurrent NA or AA) may be a high-risk group worthy of targeting for interventions. Continued research of the affective dimensions linked with smoking could inform the etiology of tobacco dependence and lead to more effective smoking interventions that target affect.

Anhedonia associated with stimulant use and dependence in a population-based sample of American adults.

Prior research suggests an association between anhedonia--diminished interest or pleasure in rewarding activities--and stimulant use in selected samples. However, it is unclear whether this association generalizes to the overall population and is consistent across stimulant drug types (amphetamine vs. cocaine) and outcome characteristics (any lifetime use vs. dependence). Questions also remain as to whether the anhedonia-stimulant relationship is unique from covariance with depressed mood, psychiatric disorders, and nonstimulant substance use. The current study addressed these questions by examining anhedonia-stimulant relationships in a cross-sectional population-based sample of 43,093 American adults. Results indicated that lifetime anhedonia and depressed mood each were positively associated with lifetime stimulant use and lifetime dependence among those who reported stimulant use. Anhedonia-stimulant relationships were consistent across amphetamine- and cocaine-related outcomes and distinct from covariance with depressed mood, which exhibited no association over and above the effect of anhedonia. After adjusting for demographic, psychiatric, and nonstimulant substance use characteristics, anhedonia-stimulant associations remained significant, although effect sizes were partially attenuated. Lifetime anhedonia was also more prevalent among respondents who initiated use but did not eventually progress to dependence in comparison with individuals who never once used a stimulant drug. Anhedonia appears to be uniquely associated with lifetime use of cocaine and amphetamines and lifetime progression from use to dependence in the American population. Albeit cross-sectional in nature, these findings add further support to the generalizability and specificity of the anhedonia-stimulant relationship. Future research utilizing longitudinal and experimental designs are warranted to clarify the underpinnings of this association.

Anhedonia and the relative reward value of drug and nondrug reinforcers in cigarette smokers.

Anhedonia-a psychopathologic trait indicative of diminished interest, pleasure, and enjoyment-has been linked to use of and addiction to several substances, including tobacco. We hypothesized that anhedonic drug users develop an imbalance in the relative reward value of drug versus nondrug reinforcers, which could maintain drug use behavior. To test this hypothesis, we examined whether anhedonia predicted the tendency to choose an immediate drug reward (i.e., smoking) over a less immediate nondrug reward (i.e., money) in a laboratory study of non-treatment-seeking adult cigarette smokers. Participants (N = 275, ≥10 cigarettes/day) attended a baseline visit that involved anhedonia assessment followed by 2 counterbalanced experimental visits: (a) after 16-hr smoking abstinence and (b) nonabstinent. At both experimental visits, participants completed self-report measures of mood state followed by a behavioral smoking task, which measured 2 aspects of the relative reward value of smoking versus money: (1) latency to initiate smoking when delaying smoking was monetarily rewarded and (2) willingness to purchase individual cigarettes. Results indicated that higher anhedonia predicted quicker smoking initiation and more cigarettes purchased. These relations were partially mediated by low positive and high negative mood states assessed immediately prior to the smoking task. Abstinence amplified the extent to which anhedonia predicted cigarette consumption among those who responded to the abstinence manipulation, but not the entire sample. Anhedonia may bias motivation toward smoking over alternative reinforcers, perhaps by giving rise to poor acute mood states. An imbalance in the reward value assigned to drug versus nondrug reinforcers may link anhedonia-related psychopathology to drug use.

Anxiety and depressive symptoms and affective patterns of tobacco withdrawal

BACKGROUND The complex concordance and discordance across and within anxiety and depressive symptoms complicates understanding of the relation between emotional symptoms and manifestations of tobacco withdrawal. The goal of this study was to parse the broad variation in anxiety and depressive symptoms into conceptually discrete components and explore their relative predictive influence on affective patterns of acute tobacco withdrawal. METHODS We employed a within-participant experimentally manipulated tobacco abstinence design involving: (i) a baseline visit at which past-week depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed and (ii) two counterbalanced experimental visits-one after ad lib smoking and one after 16-h of tobacco abstinence-at which state affect was assessed. Participants were community-dwelling adults (N=187) smoking 10+ cig/day for at least two years without an active mood disorder. RESULTS Anxiety-related general distress symptoms (e.g., tension, nervousness) predicted greater abstinence-induced increases in various negative affective states but not changes in positive affect (βs .17-.33). Depression-related general distress symptoms (e.g., sadness, worthlessness) predicted greater abstinence-induced increases in acute depressed affect only (βs .24-.25). Anhedonic symptoms (e.g., diminished interest, lack of pleasure) predicted larger abstinence-induced decreases in acute positive affect only (βs .17-.20). Anxious Arousal symptoms (e.g., shakiness, heart racing) predicted larger abstinence-induced increases in fatigue and depressive affect (βs .15-.24). CONCLUSION Different components of anxiety and depressive symptoms are associated with unique affective patterns of acute tobacco withdrawal. These results provide insight into the affective mechanisms underlying tobacco dependence and could inform smoking cessation treatment approaches tailored to individuals with emotional distress.

Associations between posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters and cigarette smoking.

Understanding the relationship between Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cigarette smoking has been difficult because of PTSDs symptomatic heterogeneity. This study examined common and unique lifetime cross-sectional relationships between PTSD symptom clusters [Re-experiencing (intrusive thoughts and nightmares about the trauma), Avoidance (avoidance of trauma-associated memories or stimuli), Emotional Numbing (loss of interest, interpersonal detachment, restricted positive affect), and Hyperarousal (irritability, difficulty concentrating, hypervigilance, insomnia)] and three indicators of smoking behavior: (1) smoking status; (2) cigarettes per day; and (3) nicotine dependence. Participants were adult respondents in the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions with a trauma history (n = 23,635). All four symptom clusters associated with each smoking outcome in single-predictor models (ps <. 0001). In multivariate models including all of the symptom clusters as simultaneous predictors, Emotional Numbing was the only cluster to retain a significant association with lifetime smoking over and above the other clusters, demographics, and Axis-I comorbidity (OR = 1.30, p < .01). While Avoidance uniquely associated with smoking status and nicotine dependence in multivariate models, these relations fell below significance after adjusting for demographics and comorbidity. No clusters uniquely associated with cigarettes per day. Hyperarousal uniquely related with nicotine dependence over and above the other clusters, demographics, and Axis-I comorbidity (OR = 1.51, p < .001). These results suggest the following: (a) common variance across PTSD symptom clusters contribute to PTSDs linkage with smoking in the American population; and (b) certain PTSD symptom clusters may uniquely associate with particular indicators of smoking behavior. These findings may clarify the underpinnings of PTSD-smoking comorbidity and inform smoking interventions for trauma-exposed individuals.

Associations between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptom Domains and DSM-IV Lifetime Substance Dependence

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Most studies of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the substance dependence literature have assessed ADHD as a single, categorical entity. This approach limits characterization across the spectrum of ADHD symptomatology and may mask differences across the two core domains of ADHD symptoms-hyperactive-impulsive (HI) and inattention (IN). Further, it is unclear whether relations of HI and IN symptoms to substance dependence extend across drug classes and to the general population. METHODS This cross-sectional study investigated associations of lifetime ADHD HI and IN symptom levels to individual classes of lifetime substance dependence (alcohol, nicotine, depressants, opioids, stimulants, cannabis, hallucinogens, polysubstance) in a population-based sample of 34,653 American adults. RESULTS HI and IN were associated with the majority of dependence diagnoses in a linear pattern, such that each additional symptom was associated with a proportional increase in odds of dependence. After adjusting for the overlap between symptom domains, both HI and IN uniquely associated with alcohol, nicotine, and polysubstance dependence, but only HI uniquely associated with dependence on illicit substances. CONCLUSIONS AND SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE These findings suggest that individuals in the general population with elevated levels of ADHD (particularly HI) symptoms are at risk for various forms of substance dependence and could benefit from preventive interventions.

Associations between depressive symptom dimensions and smoking dependence motives.

Depressive symptoms are heterogeneous and can be parsed into four subdimensions (i.e., positive affect [PA], negative affect [NA], somatic features [SF], and interpersonal problems [IP]) that may have unique associations with the motivation to smoke. This study explored associations between depressive symptom dimensions and 13 theoretically distinct domains of smoking dependence motivation in current cigarette smokers (N = 212; 53% female, mean [M] age = 24 years). Results demonstrated substantial variability in the pattern of motivational correlates across depressive dimensions. Low PA exhibited the narrowest motivational profile, associating with only the tendency to prioritize smoking over other reinforcers. NA demonstrated a broader profile, associating with smoking for affect regulation and cognitive enhancement as well as prioritizing smoking. SF associated with prioritizing smoking and smoking because of cue exposure, craving, and weight control. IP demonstrated the broadest profile, associating with 7 of 13 motivational domains. These findings may assist the tailoring cessation interventions for smokers with depressive symptoms.

Positive and negative affect as predictors of urge to smoke: temporal factors and mediational pathways.

Elucidating interrelations between prior affective experience, current affective state, and acute urge to smoke could inform affective models of addiction motivation and smoking cessation treatment development. This study tested the hypothesis that prior levels of positive (PA) and negative (NA) affect predict current smoking urge via a mediational pathway involving current state affect. We also explored if tobacco deprivation moderated affect-urge relations and compared the effects of PA and NA on smoking urge to one another. At a baseline session, smokers reported affect experienced over the preceding few weeks. At a subsequent experimental session, participants were randomly assigned to 12-hr tobacco deprived (n = 51) or nondeprived (n = 69) conditions and reported state affect and current urge. Results revealed a mediational pathway whereby prior NA reported at baseline predicted state NA at the experimental session, which in turn predicted current urge. This mediational pathway was found primarily for an urge subtype indicative of urgent need to smoke and desire to smoke for NA relief, was stronger in the deprived (vs. nondeprived) condition, and remained significant after controlling for PA. Prior PA and current state PA were inversely associated with current urge; however, these associations were eliminated after controlling for NA. These results cohere with negative reinforcement models of addiction and with prior research and suggest that: (a) NA plays a stronger role in smoking motivation than PA; (b) state affect is an important mechanism linking prior affective experience to current urge; and (c) affect management interventions may attenuate smoking urge in individuals with a history of affective disturbance.

Distress Tolerance as a Correlate of Tobacco Dependence and Motivation: Incremental Relations over and above Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms

ABSTRACT Distress tolerance—the capacity to withstand distressing states—is implicated in the etiology of regular smoking. The present study extends past research by examining whether relations between perceived distress tolerance and smoking-related factors: (1) differ across subdimensions of distress tolerance (Tolerance, Appraisal, Regulation, Absorption); (2) extend across measures of dependence, negative reinforcement smoking, and craving; and (3) are incremental to depressive and anxiety symptoms. Results showed that global distress tolerance was associated with measures of dependence, negative reinforcement, and craving even after controlling for affective symptomatology. Subdimensions of distress tolerance were not uniquely related to smoking outcomes in unadjusted or adjusted models. These findings suggest that: (a) distress tolerance is uniquely implicated in smoking over and above affective symptomatology; and (b) specific subdimensions of distress tolerance do not provide more information about smoking-related characteristics than global dimensions; and (c) addressing distress tolerance in smoking cessation interventions may promote successful cessation.

Symptom dimensions of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

Research suggests that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and nicotine withdrawal symptoms are related; however, it is unknown how this relationship extends across ADHD symptom gradations, differs between inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity symptom types, and generalizes to a national sample. This study examined cross-sectional associations between childhood ADHD symptom indexes (total, inattention, and hyperactivity-impulsivity) and lifetime DSM-IV nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Results showed that each ADHD symptom index associated with almost every withdrawal symptom (Ps < .01). After controlling for hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention symptom overlap, inattention (but not hyperactivity-impulsivity) retained incremental associations with most withdrawal symptoms. These findings are relevant for understanding mechanisms of ADHD and smoking comorbidity.