Emotional reactivity to trauma stimuli and duration of past smoking cessation attempts in smokers with posttraumatic stress disorder

The present study examined whether reactivity to emotional stressors is related to early relapse from smoking cessation in persons with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Smokers with PTSD who had failed to sustain any previous quit attempt for 7 days (n = 26) and PTSD smokers who were able to sustain a quit attempt for more than a week (n = 50) were exposed to emotional stimuli in the form of personalized scripts that included neutral/ relaxing experiences, stressful/nontraumatic experiences, and traumatic experiences. Results indicated an interaction between script type and group. Although groups did not differ after presentation of neutral scripts, persons with PTSD unable to sustain a quit attempt for as long as 7 days responded with greater levels of emotional reactivity to both stressful and trauma stimuli relative to those able to sustain a quit attempt longer than 7 days. Further, results suggested that emotional reactivity to stressors (both traumatic and nontraumatic) is related to duration of past longest quit attempt in smokers with PTSD. Results are consistent with findings in nonpsychiatric samples that suggest that individual differences in affective regulatory processes are related to duration of smoking cessation attempts. Systematic replications including a prospective design are recommended.