An examination of anxiety sensitivity as a moderator of the relationship between smoking level and posttraumatic stress symptoms among trauma-exposed adults

The present investigation tested the prediction that global and lower-order factors of anxiety sensitivity (AS) would moderate the relationship between cigarette smoking level and posttraumatic stress symptom levels among 78 (59 female) traumatic event-exposed adults. Consistent with prediction, global levels of AS and levels of AS mental incapacitation and physical concerns moderated the association between smoking level and posttraumatic stress symptoms; the combination of high levels of AS and greater number of cigarettes smoked per day was associated with higher symptom levels than any other combination of these factors. In a test of specificity, these three aspects of AS did not moderate the relation between smoking level and depressive symptoms. These findings increase our understanding of the association between smoking and posttraumatic symptoms by integrating cognitive factors, such as AS, into current models of this common overlap. Theoretical and treatment implications are discussed.