Modelling the contribution of negative affect, outcome expectancies and metacognitions to cigarette use and nicotine dependence

- We examined how negative affect, expectancies and metacognitions predicted cigarette use and nicotine dependence.
- Depression, but not anxiety, directly predicted cigarette use and nicotine dependence.
- Metacognitions were a stronger predictor than outcome expectancies of both cigarette use and nicotine dependence.

BackgroundBoth positive smoking outcome expectancies and metacognitions about smoking have been found to be positively associated with cigarette use and nicotine dependence. The goal of this study was to test a model including nicotine dependence and number of daily cigarettes as dependent variables, anxiety and depression as independent variables, and smoking outcome expectancies and metacognitions about smoking as mediators between the independents and dependents.MethodsThe sample consisted of 524 self-declared smokers who scored 3 or above on the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND: Uysal et al., 2004).ResultsAnxiety was not associated with either cigarette use or nicotine dependence but was positively associated with all mediators with the exception of stimulation state enhancement and social facilitation. Depression, on the other hand, was found to be positively associated with nicotine dependence (and very weakly to cigarette use) but was not associated with either smoking outcome expectancies or metacognitions about smoking. Only one smoking outcome expectancy (negative affect reduction) was found to be positively associated with nicotine dependence but not cigarette use. Furthermore one smoking outcome expectancy (negative social impression) was found to be positively associated with cigarette use (but not to nicotine dependence). All metacognitions about smoking were found to be positively associated with nicotine dependence. Moreover, negative metacognitions about uncontrollability were found to be positively associated with cigarette use.ConclusionsMetacognitions about smoking appear to be a stronger mediator than smoking outcome expectancies in the relationship between negative affect and cigarette use/nicotine dependence. The implications of these findings are discussed.