Assessing the MMPI-based Cook-Medley Hostility Scale: the implications of dimensionality

Hostility and cigarette use: a comparison between smokers and nonsmokers in a matched sample of adolescents

INTRODUCTION

We examined the association between hostility-a personality trait reflective of negativity and cynicism toward others-and smoking in adolescents by measuring (a) several subcomponents of hostility, and (b) facial emotion processing ability, which has been previously linked to hostility.

METHODS

Participants (N = 241 aged 14-19) were 95 smokers and 95 demographically matched nonsmokers as well as 51 nonmatched smokers. All participants completed the Cook-Medley (C-M) hostility scale, which provides a general hostility score and 3 component scores (cynicism, hypersensitivity, and aggressive responding), and a facial emotion processing task. This task, designed to assess emotion recognition, requires quickly identifying the emotion of faces that gradually morph from neutral to high-intensity happy, angry, or fearful.

RESULTS

Independent sample t tests indicated that matched smokers scored significantly higher in cynicism and aggressive responding than nonsmokers. Among smokers, age of smoking onset was negatively correlated with general hostility and aggressive responding. All hostility scales were positively correlated with the intensity needed to recognize happy faces. Counterintuitively, smokers required a greater intensity to recognize angry faces than nonsmokers. No other relations between hostility/smoking status and facial emotion processing were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

Aspects of hostility, particularly aggressive responding, may be a risk factor for early onset smoking. Although hostile participants exhibited a deficiency in their ability to recognize happiness in facial pictures, these results did not translate to differences in smoking status. This study elucidates some of the complex interrelations between hostility, emotion processing, and adolescent smoking, which may have implications for teen smoking prevention.

Hostility and smoking cessation treatment outcome in heavy social drinkers

Hostility is a multifaceted construct encompassing affective, behavioral, and cognitive aspects. There is preliminary evidence linking hostility to poorer outcomes in smoking cessation treatment; however, it is unclear which components of hostility are most important in cessation. In this study, the authors examined multiple aspects of trait hostility in 92 heavy social drinkers who were seeking smoking cessation treatment. Consistent with their hypothesis, the authors found that the cognitive component of hostility was most relevant to smoking cessation outcome. Specifically, those who expressed bitterness about their lives and tended to believe that they had poor luck and had gotten a raw deal out of life had poor smoking cessation outcomes. Cognitive measures of hostility also predicted greater nicotine withdrawal symptoms 1 week after quitting smoking. Other components of hostility including anger and both physical and verbal aggression did not significantly predict smoking outcome or nicotine withdrawal. Further examination of how a hostile worldview contributes to smoking cessation failure is warranted, as this facet of hostility may prove a valuable target for smoking cessation interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).