Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jun;44(2):131-141.
doi: 10.1007/s10484-019-09429-z.

Examining the Relation Between Physiological and Psychological Components of Stress Reactivity and Recovery in Cigarette Smokers

Allison M Borges  1 , Edward Selby  2 , Marsha Bates  3 , Michael Zvolensky  4 , Teresa M Leyro  2
Affiliations

Examining the Relation Between Physiological and Psychological Components of Stress Reactivity and Recovery in Cigarette Smokers

Allison M Borges et al. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2019 Jun.

Abstract

Cigarette smokers exhibit reduced physiological stress reactivity, yet it is unclear whether blunted reactivity predicts differences in subjective recovery and vice versa. The study examined whether basal heart rate and heart rate reactivity were related to recovery in anxiety following stress, and conversely, whether initial self-reported anxiety and anxiety reactivity were related to heart rate recovery. Fifty-six smokers completed a 10-min baseline period, a 4-min stressor, and a 10-min recovery period during which heart rate and anxiety were continuously assessed. Results indicated significant linear (p < .01, d = 0.31) and quadratic (p = .02, d = 0.27) effects of baseline heart rate and reactivity (linear p < .01, d = 0.80; quadratic p < .01, d = 0.66) on recovery in anxiety and significant linear (p < .01, d = 0.88) and quadratic (p < .01, d = 0.74) effects of anxiety reactivity on heart rate recovery. These findings suggest that reduced reactivity in both heart rate and anxiety predicted slower recovery in the opposite domain. Findings offer initial evidence for psychophysiological integration in cigarette smokers.

Keywords: Anxiety reactivity; Heart rate reactivity; Psychophysiology; Smoking.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Study Diagram. Heart rate and anxiety were assessed over the 10-minute baseline, 4-minute challenge, and 10-minute recovery period.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The predicted change in subjective anxiety over the recovery period as a function of low and high baseline heart rate (i.e., 1 SD above and below the mean). The dashed line represents the trajectory for individuals with higher baseline heart rate.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The predicted change in subjective anxiety over the recovery period as a function of low and high heart rate reactivity (i.e., 1 SD above and below the mean). The dashed line represents the trajectory for individuals with greater heart rate reactivity.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
The predicted change in heart rate over the recovery period as a function of low and high reactivity in anxiety (i.e., 1 SD above and below the mean). The dashed line represents the trajectory for individuals with greater reactivity in anxiety.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Abrantes AM, Strong DR, Lejuez CW, Kahler CW, Carpenter LL, Price LH, … & Brown RA (2008). The role of negative affect in risk for early lapse among low distress tolerance smokers. Addictive Behaviors, 33(11), 1394–1401. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ahmad M, Selvaraj E, & Meenakshisundaram R (2015). The Effects of Active and Passive Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease In Heart and Toxins (pp. 437–457). Academic Press.
    1. al’Absi M, Hatsukami D, & Davis GL (2005). Attenuated adrenocorticotropic responses to psychological stress are associated with early smoking relapse. Psychopharmacology, 181(1), 107–117. - PubMed
    1. Ashare RL, Sinha R, Lampert R, Weinberger AH, Anderson GM, Lavery ME, … & McKee SA (2012). Blunted vagal reactivity predicts stress-precipitated tobacco smoking. Psychopharmacology, 220(2), 259–268. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Blascovich J (1992). A biopsychosocial approach to arousal regulation. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 11(3), 213–237.