Publications by authors named "Michael Zvolensky"

Introduction: Hispanic/Latinx (hereafter Hispanic) individuals who smoke have challenges in quitting and a disproportionate risk of smoking-related health problems when compared to the general population. The smoking inequalities among the Hispanic population are influenced by limited treatment access and chronic stress exposure (e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Distress Tolerance (DT) is a transdiagnostic factor that may help better understand vulnerability to mental health problems. This study explores DT among recently incarcerated adults experiencing homelessness (RIHAs).

Methods: Participants (298) were recruited from an ongoing clinical trial at a homeless shelter in Texas.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Individuals with mental health disorders face major barriers in accessing smoking cessation care, often due to the stigmas associated with mental disorders and addiction. Consequently, accessible population-based smoking cessation interventions are needed for this vulnerable group.

Objective: This secondary analysis utilized data from a 12-month randomized trial to examine whether an acceptance and commitment therapy-based app (iCanQuit) demonstrated greater efficacy, engagement, and satisfaction compared to a United States (US) Clinical Practice Guidelines-based app (QuitGuide) in helping adults with mental health disorders quit smoking.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Persons with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to those without evince high rates of hazardous drinking, or patterns of alcohol consumption that increase the risk for harmful consequences. One potential marker of vulnerability for PTSD-hazardous drinking comorbidity may be smoking behavior. Individuals with PTSD have a higher prevalence of smoking and smoke at higher rates.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The landscape of nicotine use in the United States (US) has continued to evolve, with electronic cigarette use (hereafter e-cigarette) becoming more evident in recent years. Patterns of dual nicotine use, or using combustible nicotine in conjunction with e-cigarettes, may increase dependence on nicotine, continued exposure to toxins, and corresponding health risks. One of the most prevalent health problems related to nicotine use is the experience of chronic pain.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Interoceptive exposure (IE) exercises are underused, especially in people with chronic physical health problems. Secondary data analyses were conducted to examine the use of and acute responses to IE exercises in individuals with and without a history of chronic physical health problem(s). Participants ( = 413; Mage = 38.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The current study examines mother and father PPD as a risk factor for child emotion regulation difficulties. A model was tested in which parent depression and parent emotion socialization of children were serial intervening variables. Parent emotion socialization was assessed via parent self-reported supportive and nonsupportive reactions to child negative emotions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Although Black/African American (hereinafter Black) adults who smoke are a tobacco disparities population in the United States, little systematic research has sought to explicate how differences in the distinct experience of race-related threat are associated with established and clinically important smoking processes in one overarching model. The present investigation sought to bridge this gap and test perceived racial/ethnic discrimination and racial trauma in the context of one another regarding an array of processes involved in the maintenance and relapse of smoking behavior.

Method: Participants included 517 Black individuals who smoked cigarettes daily (≥ 5; = 45.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) represents a prevalent and problematic comorbidity. Functional health literacy (FHL) may play a role in this comorbidity based on its previously documented role in hazardous drinking. The current study examined functional health literacy (FHL) regarding hazardous drinking among a sample with probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Black Americans who use cannabis appear at greater risk for negative cannabis-related outcomes, and cannabis use is more common among individuals who smoke cigarettes. Race-based health disparities concerning cannabis outcomes indicate a need to identify psycho-socio-cultural factors that may play a role in cannabis use and related problems among Black Americans to inform prevention and treatment efforts. Minority stress-based models posit that stressors such as racism increase negative emotions, which may be associated with using substances such as cannabis to cope with negative emotions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Black individuals who smoke experience higher rates of tobacco-related health issues, which are influenced by stress related to their minority status and anxiety sensitivity (AS).
  • - A study tested a smartphone app, the Mobile Anxiety Sensitivity Program for Smoking (MASP), designed to help Black smokers with high AS quit smoking and reduce their AS.
  • - The trial with 24 participants showed high app usage, excellent retention, good participant feedback, and a significant reduction in anxiety sensitivity, with 25% of participants achieving short-term smoking abstinence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Black/African American (hereafter, Black) adults who smoke are at risk for tobacco-related health disparities in the United States (US). Although racial-based stressors (e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Sexual violence is associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but relatively less research has explored whether it is associated with hazardous drinking. PTSD symptoms may indirectly influence the association between sexual violence and hazardous alcohol use. This association may be moderated by gender.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Although rates of cigarette smoking have declined in the US, many individuals report experiencing significant barriers to quitting smoking, including poor mental health. Two prominent affective vulnerability factors that independently underlie both smoking behavior and processes and mental health include distress tolerance and anxiety sensitivity. However, limited work has examined the concurrent role of these factors on motivational reasons for smoking.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The COVID-19 pandemic made many people feel stressed and anxious about their health, but hope and optimism helped some people cope better.
  • A study looked at 788 adults in the U.S. during early 2020 to see how hope and optimism affected their stress and wellbeing.
  • The results showed that hope and optimism helped people feel less stressed and worried, with optimism being especially important for staying positive during tough times.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects gut-brain function and can lead to psychological distress, work impairment, and reduced quality of life, with limited research on its relationship with smoking.
  • The study analyzed 263 adults with IBS who smoke, focusing on how IBS symptom severity and anxiety sensitivity influence smoking habits and challenges in quitting.
  • Results showed that both anxiety sensitivity and IBS severity increased perceived difficulties in quitting smoking, especially highlighting that higher anxiety sensitivity amplified the negative expectations around quitting for those with more severe IBS symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: African American/Black (hereafter referred to as Black) persons who smoke constitute a tobacco disparities group in the United States. Within the Black population, female smokers experience a disproportionate percentage of these disparities and are less likely to quit cigarettes than their male counterparts. Two factors implicated in female smokers' relatively worse quit success are (1) motives to smoke to reduce negative affect and (2) expectancies that smoking will reduce negative affect.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

There is a growing recognition that Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) can inform some sources of physical and mental health disparities among the Latinx population. The current study sought to expand previous research by exploring the singular and interactive influence of financial strain and subjective social status-two common and clinically important SDoH factors-on pain intensity, pain disability, general depression, social anxiety, and anxious arousal. The current sample consisted of 155 Latinx adults (81.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hispanic persons in the United States (US) experienced a disproportionate proportion of adverse health consequences during the pandemic and are a well-established tobacco disparities population. The tendency to worry is one individual difference cognitive-affective construct that is important to smoking behavior and stress-related experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is limited understanding of COVID-19 worry in terms of smoking processes among Hispanic persons who smoke during the pandemic.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study looked at how approach bias (the tendency to move towards things you crave, like smoking) affects people's ability to quit smoking.
  • Researchers tested a method called approach bias retraining (ABR) to help smokers avoid their cravings and improve their chances of quitting.
  • Results showed that when smokers had lower approach bias and cravings, they were more likely to stay smoke-free during treatment, suggesting that ABR can be a helpful tool for quitting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Research on dual combustible and electronic nicotine use among Latinx persons is needed to better understand patterns of use because this group is an established tobacco disparities population. Negative emotional symptoms and related processes (e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Smoking is a public health crisis, leading to a multitude of health complications. Exercise is associated with numerous health benefits and is accepted by health professionals and smokers as a potentially effective smoking cessation aid. This chapter discusses the extant literature on the relation between exercise and smoking, including cross-sectional studies, experiments, and randomized clinical trials.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objectives: The use of both electronic and combustible cigarettes is related to greater rates of cannabis use. Further, cannabis use is associated with worse combustible smoking-related outcomes, yet little research has identified mechanisms underlying such relations. It may be that negative-affect-related transdiagnostic factors such as emotion dysregulation, anxiety sensitivity, and/or distress intolerance play a mechanistic role in the cannabis-tobacco interrelations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF