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Negative mood, depressive symptoms, and major depressive episodes (MDEs) were examined in 179 smokers with a history of major depression in a trial comparing standard smoking cessation treatment to treatment incorporating cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression (CBT-D). Early lapses were associated with relatively large increases in negative mood on quit date. Mood improved in the 2 weeks after quit date among those returning to regular smoking but not among those smoking moderately. Continuous abstinence was associated with short- and long-term reductions in depressive symptoms. MDE incidence during follow-up was 15.3% and was not associated with abstinence. Unexpected was that CBT-D was associated with greater negative mood and depressive symptoms and increased MDE risk. Results suggest complex bidirectional associations between affect and smoking outcomes.

The authors examined whether length of alcohol abstinence and depressive symptoms were related to motivational readiness to consider smoking cessation among patients in alcohol treatment. Participants were adults (N = 253) enrolled in a smoking cessation trial. Controlling for gender, depressive symptoms, and nicotine dependence, hierarchical regression analysis of readiness scores revealed a significant interaction of days since last drink and depressive symptoms. It was found that a greater number of days since last drink was associated with greater readiness, but only among patients with low scores on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (L. S. Radloff, 1977). The findings suggest that alcoholic smokers with low depressive symptoms are more receptive to quitting smoking after sustained alcohol abstinence.

This study compared adolescents' unbiased perceptions of the images displayed in smoking and antismoking advertising. Twenty-nine adolescents (ages 11-17) were shown images taken from both advertising types; all images were digitally edited so that no product information appeared in them. Participants described each image in a free-response format and rated each image on self-report dimensions. Content analyses of free-response descriptions and analyses of self-reports revealed that adolescents viewed images taken from cigarette advertisements more positively compared with images taken from antismoking advertisements. These findings suggest that I reason for the potency of cigarette advertising, compared with antismoking advertising, is the inherent positive appeal of the images displayed. Antismoking advertising may be more effective at limiting adolescent smoking if the images displayed have a more positive valence.

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.

The affectively valenced scripts used by S. Tiffany (1990) suggest that different scripts produce relatively equivalent levels of cue reactivity, although it is unclear if these laboratory findings generalize to clinical samples. In this study, cessation-motivated smokers were tested 7 days before they tried to quit smoking and were exposed to 3 audiotaped scripts that depicted different affectively valenced situations (neutral, positive, or negative). The latter 2 scripts also contained smoking cues. The findings using a clinical sample differed considerably from those using analogue laboratory samples across affective, cognitive, and physiological response measures. Reactivity to these standardized scripts failed to predict treatment outcome through a 30-day follow-up. The use of affectively valenced scripts beyond a laboratory sample is questioned.

The effects of alcohol on self-regulation were investigated using delay of gratification for viewing time for an erotic film as the primary dependent measure. Other measures included reflection--impulsivity, locus of control, sexual-guilt scores, and continuous recording of subject's penile tumescence. Using a balanced placebo design, subjects were led to believe that they had consumed an alcoholic or a nonalcoholic beverage, and half of each of these two groups received either alcohol or tonic water. In addition, the effects of three doses of alcohol (placebo, low dose, high dose) were investigated. Instructional set, regardless of drink content, resulted in longer delay times and increased thoughts with sexual content. Although there was no significant relation between increasing dose of alcohol and delay time, there was an interaction between locus-of-control scores and alcohol dose. Externalizers showed an inverse linear relation between increasing dose of alcohol and delay time. Internalizers showed the opposite trend. Implications for the self-regulation of sexual behavior under the influence of alcohol are discussed.