Abstract
Identifying factors that influence how individuals who smoke cigarettes respond to stress is important as stress is a risk factor for smoking and its maintenance. This study examined the modulatory role of cardiac vagal control (CVC), a physiological correlate of self-regulation, on cognitive stress appraisal processes of adults who smoke. Sixty daily cigarette smokers were randomized to receive positive or negative feedback during a modified Trier Social Stress Test. Pre- and post-task stress appraisals were assessed and resting and reactivity CVC measures were computed. Moderated regression models assessed if the relation between feedback condition and post-task stress appraisal varied as a function of CVC. We hypothesized that participants receiving negative feedback would report greater post-task stress appraisal compared to participants receiving positive feedback, and the strength of the effect of both feedback groups would be greater at higher levels of CVC. All models showed significant main effects of feedback condition (b = − 0.42, p = 0.01; b = − 0.45, p = 0.01) on post-task stress appraisal: participants receiving negative feedback reported greater post-task stress appraisal. No significant main or interactive effects of CVC and feedback condition on post-task stress appraisal were observed. This study demonstrates that stress appraisals of daily cigarette smokers are sensitive to social feedback, but are not moderated by individual differences in CVC. Future investigations are needed to clarify whether this finding is explained by smoking-specific impairments in CVC as well as the distinct and interactive effects of physiological and psychological processes implicated in stress and smoking risk.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
Not applicable.
Code Availability
Not applicable.
Notes
Although the samples’ average respiration rate for the baseline and dot-tracking recording periods were not significantly correlated with either CVC at rest or CVC reactivity, respectively, we ran additional analyses that included each respiration rate variable as an additional covariate. This decision was based on past work showing the effects of respiration rate and lnHF values (Shaffer & Ginsberg, 2017) Across all re-computed models, the average respiration rate variables had no significant effect on post-task stress appraisal (all ps > 0.05). As such, we did not covary for respiration rate in our final models given the current analyses were already slightly underpowered.
References
Akinola, M., & Mendes, W. B. (2008). The dark side of creativity: Biological vulnerability and negative emotions lead to greater artistic creativity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(12), 1677–1686. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167208323933
Alvarez, G. A., & Franconeri, S. L. (2007). How many objects can you track? Evidence for a resource-limited attentive tracking mechanism. Journal of Visualization, 7(13), 14.1–4.10. https://doi.org/10.1167/7.13.14
Ashare, R. L., Sinha, R., Lampert, R., Weinberger, A. H., Anderson, G. M., Lavery, M. E., Yanagisawa, K., & McKee, S. A. (2012). Blunted vagal reactivity predicts stress-precipitated tobacco smoking. Psychopharmacology (Berlin), 220(2), 259–268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-011-2473-3
Beadman, M., Das, R. K., Freeman, T. P., Scragg, P., West, R., & Kamboj, S. K. (2015). A comparison of emotion regulation strategies in response to craving cognitions: Effects on smoking behaviour, craving and affect in dependent smokers. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 69, 29–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2015.03.013
Beauchaine, T. (2001). Vagal tone, development, and Gray’s motivational theory: Toward an integrated model of autonomic nervous system functioning in psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 13(2), 183–214. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954579401002012
Berntson, G. G., Cacioppo, J. T., & Quigley, K. S. (1993). Respiratory sinus arrhythmia: Autonomic origins, physiological mechanisms, and psychophysiological implications. Psychophysiology, 30(2), 183–196. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1993.tb01731.x
Berntson, G. G., Thomas Bigger, J., Jr., Eckberg, D. L., Grossman, P., Kaufmann, P. G., Malik, M., Nagaraja, H. N., Porges, S. W., Saul, J. P., & Stone, P. H. (1997a). Heart rate variability: Origins, methods, and interpretive caveats. Psychophysiology, 34(6), 623–648.
Berntson, G. G., Thomas Bigger, J., Jr., Eckberg, D. L., Grossman, P., Kaufmann, P. G., Malik, M., Nagaraja, H. N., Porges, S. W., Saul, J. P., Stone, P. H., & Van Der Molen, M. W. (1997b). Heart rate variability: Origins, methods, and interpretive caveats. Psychophysiology, 34(6), 623–648. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1997.tb02140.x
Birkett, M. A. (2011). The Trier Social Stress Test protocol for inducing psychological stress. Journal of Visualized Experiments. https://doi.org/10.3791/3238
Blascovich, J., & Mendes, W. B. (2000). Challenge and threat appraisals: The role of affective cues. In Feeling and thinking: The role of affect in social cognition (pp. 59–82). Cambridge University Press.
Bodin, F., McIntyre, K. M., Schwartz, J. E., McKinley, P. S., Cardetti, C., Shapiro, P. A., Gorenstein, E., & Sloan, R. P. (2017). The association of cigarette smoking with high-frequency heart rate variability: An ecological momentary assessment study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 79(9), 1045–1050. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000507
Brown, R. A., Lejuez, C. W., Kahler, C. W., & Strong, D. R. (2002). Distress tolerance and duration of past smoking cessation attempts. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111(1), 180–185. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11866171
Calhoun, P. S., Dennis, M. F., & Beckham, J. C. (2007). Emotional reactivity to trauma stimuli and duration of past smoking cessation attempts in smokers with posttraumatic stress disorder. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 15(3), 256–263. https://doi.org/10.1037/1064-1297.15.3.256
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the social sciences. Routledge.
Cohen, J. (1992). Statistical power analysis. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1(3), 98–101.
Cohen, S., & Lichtenstein, E. (1990). Perceived stress, quitting smoking, and smoking relapse. Health Psychology, 9(4), 466–478. https://doi.org/10.1037//0278-6133.9.4.466
Dennis, P., Watkins, L., Calhoun, P., Oddone, A., Sherwood, A., Dennis, M., Rissling, M., & Beckham, J. (2014). Posttraumatic stress, heart-rate variability, and the mediating role of behavioral health risks. Psychosomatic Medicine 76(8), 629–637. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000110
Dinas, P. C., Koutedakis, Y., & Flouris, A. D. (2013). Effects of active and passive tobacco cigarette smoking on heart rate variability. International Journal of Cardiology, 163(2), 109–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2011.10.140
Etter, J. F., Duc, T. V., & Perneger, T. V. (1999). Validity of the Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence and of the Heaviness of Smoking Index among relatively light smokers. Addiction, 94(2), 269–281. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.1999.94226910.x
Fagerström, K. (2012). Determinants of tobacco use and renaming the FTND to the Fagerstrom Test for Cigarette Dependence. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 14(1), 75–78. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntr137
Frazier, T. W., Strauss, M. E., & Steinhauer, S. R. (2004). Respiratory sinus arrhythmia as an index of emotional response in young adults. Psychophysiology, 41(1), 75–83. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1469-8986.2003.00131.x
Garey, L., Farris, S. G., Schmidt, N. B., & Zvolensky, M. J. (2016). The role of smoking-specific experiential avoidance in the relation between perceived stress and tobacco dependence, perceived barriers to cessation, and problems during quit attempts among treatment-seeking smokers. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 5(1), 58–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2015.11.001
Hagan, M. J., Bush, N., Mendes, W. B., Arenander, J., Epel, E., & Puterman, E. (2017). Associations between childhood adversity and daily suppression and avoidance in response to stress in adulthood: Can neurobiological sensitivity help explain this relationship? Anxiety, Stress and Coping, 30(2), 163–175. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2016.1259473
Hayano, J., Yamada, M., Sakakibara, Y., Fujinami, T., Yokoyama, K., Watanabe, Y., & Takata, K. (1990). Short- and long-term effects of cigarette smoking on heart rate variability. American Journal of Cardiology, 65(1), 84–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/0002-9149(90)90030-5
Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford Publications.
Heatherton, T. F., Kozlowski, L. T., Frecker, R. C., & Fagerstrom, K. O. (1991). The Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence: A revision of the Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire. British Journal of Addiction, 86(9), 1119–1127. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1991.tb01879.x
Human, L. J., & Mendes, W. B. (2018). Cardiac vagal flexibility and accurate personality impressions: Examining a physiological correlate of the good judge. Journal of Personality, 86(6), 1065–1077. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12375
Javors, M. A., Hatch, J. P., & Lamb, R. J. (2005). Cut-off levels for breath carbon monoxide as a marker for cigarette smoking. Addiction, 100(2), 159–167. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2004.00957.x
Jennings, J. R., Kamarck, T., Stewart, C., Eddy, M., & Johnson, P. (1992). Alternate cardiovascular baseline assessment techniques: Vanilla or resting baseline. Psychophysiology, 29(6), 742–750. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1992.tb02052.x
Kettunen, J., Ravaja, N., Naatanen, P., & Keltikangas-Jarvinen, L. (2000). The relationship of respiratory sinus arrhythmia to the co-activation of autonomic and facial responses during the Rorschach test. Psychophysiology, 37(2), 242–250. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10731774
Kim, H.-Y. (2013). Statistical notes for clinical researchers: Assessing normal distribution (2) using skewness and kurtosis. Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics, 38(1), 52–54. https://doi.org/10.5395/rde.2013.38.1.52
Lazarus, R. S. (1966). Psychological stress and the coping process. McGraw-Hill.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer.
Malik, M., Bigger, J. T., Camm, A. J., Kleiger, R. E., Malliani, A., Moss, A. J., & Schwartz, P. J. (1996). Heart rate variability: Standards of measurement, physiological interpretation, and clinical use. European Heart Journal, 17(3), 354–381. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.eurheartj.a014868
McKee, S. A., Maciejewski, P. K., Falba, T., & Mazure, C. M. (2003). Sex differences in the effects of stressful life events on changes in smoking status. Addiction, 98(6), 847–855. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.2003.00408.x
Mendes, W. B., Gray, H. M., Mendoza-Denton, R., Major, B., & Epel, E. S. (2007). Why egalitarianism might be good for your health: Physiological thriving during stressful intergroup encounters. Psychological Science, 18(11), 991–998. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.02014.x
Middlekauff, H. R., Park, J., & Moheimani, R. S. (2014). Adverse effects of cigarette and noncigarette smoke exposure on the autonomic nervous system: Mechanisms and implications for cardiovascular risk. Journal of American College of Cardiology, 64(16), 1740–1750. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2014.06.1201
Muhtadie, L., Koslov, K., Akinola, M., & Mendes, W. B. (2015). Vagal flexibility: A physiological predictor of social sensitivity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109(1), 106–120. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000016
Nohlert, E., Ohrvik, J., & Helgason, A. R. (2018). Self-perceived ability to cope with stress and depressive mood without smoking predicts successful smoking cessation 12 months later in a quitline setting: A secondary analysis of a randomized trial. BMC Public Health, 18(1), 1066. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5973-9
Porges, S. W. (1995a). Cardiac vagal tone: A physiological index of stress. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 19(2), 225–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/0149-7634(94)00066-a
Porges, S. W. (1995b). Orienting in a defensive world: Mammalian modifications of our evolutionary heritage. A Polyvagal Theory. Psychophysiology, 32(4), 301–318. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1995.tb01213.x
Porges, S. W. (2007). The polyvagal perspective. Biological Psychology, 74(2), 116–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2006.06.009
Pumprla, J., Howorka, K., Groves, D., Chester, M., & Nolan, J. (2002). Functional assessment of heart rate variability: Physiological basis and practical applications. International Journal of Cardiology, 84(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0167-5273(02)00057-8
Reifman, A., & Keyton, K. (2010). In N. J. Salkind (Ed.), Winsorize Encyclopedia of research design (pp. 1636–1638). SAGE.
Robinson, S. M., Sobell, L. C., Sobell, M. B., & Leo, G. I. (2014). Reliability of the Timeline Followback for cocaine, cannabis, and cigarette use. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 28(1), 154–162. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030992
Shaffer, F., & Ginsberg, J. P. (2017). An overview of heart rate variability metrics and norms. Frontiers in Public Health, 5, 258. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00258
Siegel, A., Korbman, M., & Erblich, J. (2017). Direct and indirect effects of psychological distress on stress-induced smoking. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 78(6), 930–937. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2017.78.930
Taylor, S. E., Seeman, T. E., Eisenberger, N. I., Kozanian, T. A., Moore, A. N., & Moons, W. G. (2010). Effects of a supportive or an unsupportive audience on biological and psychological responses to stress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(1), 47–56. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016563
Tomaka, J., Blascovich, J., Kibler, J., & Ernst, J. M. (1997). Cognitive and physiological antecedents of threat and challenge appraisal. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(1), 63–72. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.73.1.63
Wang, M., & Saudino, K. J. (2011). Emotion regulation and stress. Journal of Adult Development, 18(2), 95–103. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-010-9114-7
Funding
This work was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R03 DA041556-01A1) awarded to the last author.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Authors TML, DEM, and WBM developed the original study design and acquired funding to support data collection. Authors HRB, DEM, WBM and TML contributed to the literature review and manuscript preparation. Authors HRB and TML completed statistical analyses. All authors have contributed to and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Ethical Approval
All study procedures were reviewed and approved by the Rutgers University Institutional Review Board and adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in this study.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Brinkman, H.R., McCarthy, D.E., Mendes, W.B. et al. An Examination of Cardiac Vagal Control Indices and Cognitive Stress Appraisal in Cigarette Smokers. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 48, 97–107 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-022-09556-0
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-022-09556-0