Does completing a craving questionnaire promote increased smoking craving? An experimental investigation.

The authors evaluated whether completing a multi-item assessment of smoking craving (the Questionnaire of Smoking Urges [QSU]) promoted increases in smoking craving. A sample of 39 regular smokers was randomly assigned to 1 of 3 manipulations (each of 3 min duration): (a) complete the QSU–Brief (10 items), (b) complete a noncraving questionnaire that was structurally identical to the QSU–Brief (scale-based control), and (c) a time-based control. Participants responded to an oral question assessing their degree of craving immediately before and after the manipulations. Results indicated that the QSU did not promote increases in craving compared to the 2 control conditions. Despite continuing debate over the most appropriate self-report measure of craving, investigators who use the QSU–Brief can be reasonably sure that the scores that result are not biased due to reactivity effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between lead mining and blood lead levels in children

The authors studied blood lead levels of 226 randomly selected children, aged 6-92 mo, who lived in either a lead-mining area or a nonmining area, and 69 controls. The authors sought to determine to what extent mining activities contributed to blood lead levels in the children. The mean blood lead levels in the study and control groups were 6.52 microg/dl and 3.43 microg/dl, respectively. The corresponding proportions of children with elevated blood lead levels were 17% and 3%. Soil and dust lead levels were up to 10 times higher in the study than the control group. Elevated blood lead levels appeared to result from exposure to both lead-mining waste and lead-based paint. Mining waste was the cause of the higher prevalence of elevated blood lead levels in these children.     

The Big Five versus nobody?

Comments on L. R. Goldberg's (see record 1993-17546-001) depiction of the Big Five factor structure as an alternative theoretical perspective on personality. In light of the multiple perspectives that characterize personality psychology, it is asserted that Goldberg's remarks about an emerging consensus on the Big Five as a solution should be read with caution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Symptoms of depression and survival experience among three samples of smokers trying to quit.

Symptoms of depression have been associated with increased smoking prevalence and failure to quit smoking in several cross-sectional and population-based studies. Few studies, however, have prospectively examined the ability of current symptoms of depression to predict failure to quit smoking in treatment-motivated smokers. Pretreatment depressed mood was assessed by 3 different methods in 3 separate samples, 2 of which comprised smokers receiving combined pharmacological and behavioral treatments and a 3rd in which smokers received self-help materials only. In all studies, time in days from quit day until the 1st cigarette was ascertained to document survival. Survival analyses showed that in all 3 studies survival time was significantly and negatively related to measures of even very low levels of pretreatment depressed mood. Results were replicated across 3 independent samples and were robust and uniformly clear, indicating that low levels of depressive symptoms assessed at baseline predict time to 1st cigarette smoked after attempted quitting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do processes of change predict smoking stage movements? A prospective analysis of the transtheoretical model.

The transtheoretical model (TTM) posits that processes of change and the pros and cons of smoking predict progressive movement through the stages of change. This study provides both a cross-sectional replication and a prospective test of this hypothesis. As part of a larger study of worksite cancer prevention (the Working Well Trial), employees of 26 manufacturing worksites completed a baseline and 2 annual follow-up surveys. Of the 63% of employees completing baseline surveys, 27.7% were smokers (N?=?1,535), and a cohort of these smokers completed the 2-year follow-up. Cross-sectional results replicated previous studies with virtually all the processes of change and the cons of smoking increasing in linear fashion from precontemplation to preparation (all ps?p?     

Cigarette smoking under stress: the role of coping expectancies among smokers in a clinic-based smoking cessation program

This study examined 2 expectancies to explain smoking under stress: smokers' expectations about their ability to cope with stress while remaining abstinent and their expectations about the stress-ameliorating and coping benefits of smoking under stress. The interaction of the expectancies concurrently predicted smoking urge under stress, which, in turn, predicted subsequent smoking. The interaction of posttreatment expectancies prospectively predicted smoking status 3 months after treatment, although the coping benefits of smoking expectancy effect was reversed. Expectations about coping ability increased and expectations about the coping benefits of smoking decreased as a function of participating in a smoking cessation program. The discrepant concurrent and prospective findings, reasons that coping expectancies are associated with smoking under stress, and treatment implications are discussed.     

Lapse-induced surges in craving influence relapse in adult smokers: An experimental investigation.

Objectives: Nearly all smokers who lapse experience a full-blown relapse, but the mediating mechanisms that contribute to this relationship are not well understood. A better understanding of these mechanisms would help to advance more effective relapse prevention treatments for smokers. The purpose of this study is to experimentally evaluate the effects of a programmed smoking lapse on smoking relapse and the effects of postlapse changes in craving on relapse. Method: Adult smokers (n = 63) who quit smoking with a brief cognitive–behavioral intervention and self-help materials were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions after 48 h of abstinence: No lapse (a no-smoking control/30-min waiting period) or lapse (smoking two cigarettes of their favored brand during a 30-min period). All participants were then followed daily for 14 days. Craving and biochemically verified self-reported abstinence were assessed on each follow-up day. Time (days) to relapse (7 consecutive days of smoking) was the main dependent measure. Results: Results of Cox regression analysis revealed that participants in the lapse condition relapsed more quickly than participants in the no-lapse condition (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.03, 4.35]). These effects were attributable, in part, to episodic increases in craving among participants in the lapse condition only (HR = 12.42, 95% CI =[2.00, 77.1]). Conclusions: Previously abstinent smokers who lapse are at risk for increased cigarette cravings and consequently, full-blown relapse. These results have implications for both cognitive–behavioral treatments for relapse prevention and for medications designed to help smokers manage cravings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Functional conservation of yeast mtTFB despite extensive sequence divergence

The elaboration of cardiac mesenchyme is controlled by a particulate form of extracellular matrix that is produced by the myocardium. This matrix consists of at least 7-10 major proteins or protein subunits. However, at present only a few of these proteins have been identified (i.e., ES130, fibronectin, transferrin). We report here the identification of a 283-kDa protein associated with this complex. This protein was identified using a new monoclonal antibody that is highly specific for this protein. The antibody does not react with human plasma fibronectin, chicken fibronectin or chicken cytotactin. In addition, this antibody inhibits the formation of mesenchyme when used in a bioassay of mesenchyme formation.