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Sex differences in smoking cue reactivity: craving, negative affect, and preference for immediate smoking
1Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, California.
Background And Objectives:
Female smokers have greater difficulty quitting, possibly due to increased reactivity to smoking-related cues. This study assessed sex differences in craving, affect, and preference for immediate smoking after cue exposure.
Methods:
Regular smokers (n = 60; 50% female) were exposed to smoking and neutral cues in separate, counterbalanced sessions. Outcomes included changes in craving and affect and preference for immediate smoking following cue exposure.
Results:
Findings indicated that women exhibited greater preference for immediate smoking (p = .004), and reported greater cue-induced increases in cigarette craving (p = .046) and negative affect (p = .025).
Discussion And Conclusions:
These data suggest that women may have greater difficulty inhibiting smoking after cue exposure, possibly as a consequence of greater increases in craving and negative affect.
Scientific Significance And Future Directions:
Findings suggest a mechanism that may contribute to greater cessation failure among female smokers.
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