Impulsivity at Different Stages of Adolescent Smoking

描述（由申请人提供）：拟议的项目旨在提高对冲动行为在青少年吸烟吸收中的作用的理解。本研究的主要目的是通过实验室任务程序在成为青少年吸烟者的不同阶段评估冲动行为的两个主要维度（即抑制-控制和奖励延迟冲动行为）之间的横断面关系。拟议的研究在很大程度上是相关的；然而，这项研究有望为未来的纵向研究提供初步数据，旨在更牢固地建立冲动和青少年吸烟之间的因果关系。此外，这项研究应该有助于澄清与青少年吸烟相关的具体行为机制，这些机制将在青少年吸烟预防和戒烟工作中作为额外的重点，在早期吸烟阶段确定的关系为预防工作提供信息，在后期为戒烟工作提供信息。使用实验室程序还有一个额外的好处，那就是增加了检测冲动行为暂时增加的灵敏度。这种冲动的增加可能是某些环境事件的结果，并可能在吸烟的不同阶段起决定性作用。例如，使用实验室程序的试点数据表明，青少年第一次尝试吸烟会有一段时间的冲动性增强（Reynolds et al., 2003）。与此相关，拟制项目的第二个特点将涉及探索在不同吸烟阶段自我报告的消极生活事件与冲动行为之间的关系。这些与压力相关的变量已经被认为是青少年开始吸烟的危险因素。这群人可能对生活中的负面事件特别敏感，这可能会增加他们尝试吸烟的脆弱性，或者更频繁地使用，要么是他们自己的权利，要么是压力对冲动的间接影响。本研究将探讨冲动行为在青少年负性生活事件与吸烟状况之间可能扮演的中介角色。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed project stands to improve understanding of the role of impulsive behavior in adolescent cigarette-smoking uptake. The primary goal of this research is to cross-sectionally identify relations between two primary dimensions of impulsive behavior (i.e., inhibitory-control and delay-of-reward impulsive behaviors) as assessed by laboratory-task procedures at the different stages to becoming an adolescent smoker. The proposed study is largely correlational; however, this study is expected to generate preliminary data for future longitudinal research aimed at more firmly establishing causal or consequent relations between impulsivity and adolescent cigarette-smoking. Additionally, this study should help clarify the specific behavioral mechanisms related to adolescent smoking that will later serve as additional points of emphasis for adolescent smoking prevention and cessation efforts, with relations identified at earlier smoking stages informing prevention efforts, and at later stages, cessation efforts. The use of laboratory procedures also has the added benefit of increased sensitivity to detection of temporary increases in impulsive behavior. Such increases in impulsivity may occur as a result of certain environmental events and may play a determining role at different stages of smoking uptake. For example, pilot data using a laboratory procedure suggest a period of heightened impulsivity associated with adolescents trying cigarettes for the first time (Reynolds et al., 2003). Related to this, a secondary feature of the proposed project will involve exploring relations between self-reported negative life events and impulsive behavior at the different smoking stages. These stress-related variables are already recognized risk factors to smoking initiation among adolescents. This population may be particularly sensitive to negative life events, and these may increase vulnerability to trying cigarettes or the escalation to more frequent use, either in their own right or indirectly through the effects of stress on impulsivity. The possible role of impulsive behavior as a mediator between negative life events and cigarette-smoking status among adolescents will be explored.