Psychologic aspects of cigarette smoking in men. A clinical evaluation

Prolonged pacifier use during infancy and smoking initiation in adolescence: evidence from a historical cohort study

AIM

To investigate the association between prolonged pacifier use during childhood and smoking in adolescence and early adulthood.

METHODS

A historical cohort study including patients from a dental private office was designed. Dental records were used, which contained complete data about sucking habits from 314 children (2-10 years of age) who had attended a private dental office from 1988 to 1994 in Ibiá, Brazil. Then, we collected data about the smoking habits from 261 subjects who were successfully contacted again from 2004 to 2006. Our outcome variable was smoking, and subjects who had smoked more than 100 cigarettes during their lifetime were classified as smokers. Poisson regression analysis matched the association between oral habits and smoking. Incidence rate ratios (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. The level of significance was set at 5%.

RESULTS

We observed a statistically significant association between prolonged pacifier use (more than 24 months) and smoking (IRR = 4.48; 95% CI 2.32-8.65). Breastfeeding, in contrast, was a protective factor (IRR = 0.64; 95% CI 0.42-0.96).

CONCLUSIONS

Prolonged pacifier use during childhood is positively associated with smoking initiation in adolescence and early adulthood.

PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF EATING, DRINKING, AND SMOKING IN ADULT WOMEN

The psychological functions of eating, drinking, and smoking were analyzed in relation to the self-reported behaviors of 20 to 30 year old women. Participants were recruited from a range of sources, and the 766 volunteers generated two quasi-representative samples of 265 subjects each which matched each other and census data on a range of demographic variables. Eight scales of psychological functions were developed. In each domain, one scale reflected behavior aimed at relief of negative effect, and one scale reflected positively motivated behavior. In the eating domain, a third scale represented eating in response to external cues, and in the drinking domain there was a scale of socially motivated drinking. Psychometric properties of each scale were investigated. Multiple correlations between the scales and their criteria ranged from R = .63 to R = .75 reflecting the importance of the predictors studied. Functions were compared within and between behavioral domains and the role of habit was also compared across domains.

Addiction as an Adaptive Response: Is Smoking a Functional Behavior?

Theories on tobacco addiction divide into two camps, the exposure orientation and the adaptive orientation. The exposure orientation suggests that the use of tobacco is addictive because of the reinforcement properties of tobacco or because of tobacco's biochemical-altering effects. The adaptive orientation views tobacco addiction as a functional response to distress and, therefore, a form of sub-optimal adaptive behavior. Though the two views are not mutually exclusive, the case is made that the primary cause of addiction is explained by the adaptive orientation, and not the exposure orientation. Viewing not only tobacco addiction but all addictions from the adaptive orientation suggests different approaches to social policy and psychotherapy than those presently espoused by the exposure orientation.

Life stress, weight gain, and resuming smoking after success in a cessation clinic

To determine how important life stresses and weight gain may be as reasons for resuming smoking, 89 subjects who had stopped smoking in cessation clinics answered follow-up telephone interviews 3 mo. later. Although many relapsers claimed that their return to cigarette use was in response to external pressure, as a group they had no more changes on the Life Change Inventory than those remaining stopped. Weight gain, reported by most of the subjects, was not a significant reason given for resuming smoking. Caution is urged in interpreting stated reasons for return to cigarette use since many seem to be guilt-reducing justifications for succumbing to intense cravings to smoke.

Maintenance and attributions about smoking among smokers, nonsmokers, and ex-smokers

Attributions about smoking by smokers, nonsmokers, and sustained ex-smokers do not show evidence of an actor versus observer bias. Smokers rated most reasons for smoking as relatively less important. Attributions about smoking of ex-smokers resembled nonsmokers and differed from smokers. Ex-smokers are less likely to perceive themselves as having been addicted but more likely to perceive continued smokers as addicted. Various attributions for smoking, heavy smoking, expectancies, and desires for quitting were differentially related to perceived addiction. The data are discussed in terms of the "mindless" habitual nature of cigarette smoking, and the conscious, cognitive restructuring necessary for maintenance after smoking ceases.

Smoking and the Eysenck personality dimensions: an interactive model

Evidence relating smoking and neuroticism is inconsistent; some studies report no significant relationship, while others report a positive association. The present study examined smoking in relation to neuroticism (N), extraversion (E) and psychoticism (P), in the light of predictions that interactions between N and E, and between N and P, could underly these inconsistent findings. The subjects were female student nurses (N = 270), of whom 34.1% were smokers. Discriminant analyses revealed that E differentiated most strongly between smokers and non-smokers. N and P did not add to the predictive power of the discriminant function, but the N x P and N x E interactions did make significant contributions. Among extraverts, and among subjects low in psychoticism, N was not related to smoking; but among introverts, and among subjects high in psychoticism, the relationship was significant and positive.

Antecedents, subjective expected utility, and behavior: a panel study of adolescent cigarette smoking

That the weighing of positive and negative consequences expected from behavior is fundamental to understanding behavior is central to many theories. We consider this in the context of subjective expected utility (SEU) and cigarette smoking in a panel study of 1,334 adolescents. There were reciprocal relationships between SEU and behavior, and SEU accounted for the association between some social and psychological variables and smoking behavior. We conclude that SEU contributes to the explanation of adolescent smoking behavior.

Smoking behavior of scientists

Academic biologists, chemists, mathematicians, and psychologists were surveyed to examine smoking rates among the various groups of scientists and to compare publication differences associated with smoking status. Smoking rates among these groups of scientists were, in general, quite low. A consistent tendency for greater publishing activity on the part of smokers than non-smokers or former smokers was observed.

Psychological and physiological changes during tobacco-abstinence in habitual smokers

Effects of 4 days of abstinence from tobacco smoking were examined in 11 habitual smokers at their usual place of work and related to smoking habits and attitudes toward smoking as studied with the aid of a questionnaire. Results showed that adrenaline and noradrenaline excretion decreased, while performance on cognitive tests was unaffected. Irritation, disturbances in social relations and activities, and lack of needed social support were shown and reported frequently.

Fantasy in individuals who smoke, stopped smoking, and never smoked

The present study advanced the hypothesis that individuals who smoke tend to fantasize more than those who have stopped smoking or never smoked. Ninety males and 90 females, with each sex divided into three categories (smokers, stopped smokers, and never smoked) were used. Results of the study supported the hypothesis when applied to male smokers, but not to female smokers. While male smokers tended to fantasize most, the opposite was found for the female smoker, who fantasized least. This was also true in the specific area of achievement.