Smoking behavior in response to a negative mood induction: The moderating role of depression

Smoking rates are elevated among individuals prone to depression. Moreover, smokers hold powerful beliefs that smoking alleviates negative moods such as depression. Nevertheless, a causal relationship between depressed mood and smoking has not been established. Previous laboratory research suggests that stress and anxiety increase smoking motivation and are attenuated by smoking. There is little experimental data, however, on the relationship between depressed or sad affect and smoking. The purpose of this study was to investigate if sadness promotes smoking behavior and in turn, if smoking alleviates sadness. Depression scores (i.e., scores on a depression self-inventory) and gender were examined as potential moderators of the relationship between smoking behavior and sadness. In addition, mood changes and attentional bias to mood and smoking-related cues were tested as potential mediators of the relationship between mood induction and smoking behavior since it has been proposed that negative mood may have an indirect effect on smoking via cognitive factors (e.g., Baker, Piper, McCarthy, Majeskie, & Fiore, 2004). Smokers (N = 121) were randomly assigned to receive either a sad mood induction or a neutral mood induction via standardized video clips. Primary analyses revealed no differential effect of condition on smoking behavior. Depression status moderated the effect of condition in that smoking motivation in response to the sad condition was greater among depressed participants compared to non-depressed participants. Furthermore, changes in positive mood appeared to partially mediate the effect of condition on smoking behavior for depressed participants. There were no gender differences in smoking behavior in response to the mood induction. The results suggest that depressed smokers may be more motivated to smoke in response to decreases in positive mood than non-depressed smokers.