Exploring the Role of Traumatic Event Exposure in Tobacco Dependence Treatment Outcomes Among African Americans

ABSTRACT

African Americans are more likely to die from tobacco-related diseases and less likely to quit smoking than their white counterparts. Evidence of greater prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among African Americans underscores the importance of studying the effects of traumatic event exposure on tobacco dependence treatment outcomes in this group. In this secondary analysis of data from a previously completed randomized control trial, we examined the effects of traumatic event exposure (e.g., serious accident) on tobacco dependence treatment outcomes, as well its moderating effects on the effectiveness of an adapted smoking cessation treatment, in a sample (n = 169) of African American smokers in New York City. Traumatic event exposure did not have a significant impact on tobacco treatment outcomes and did not moderate the relationship between treatment type and outcomes in this sample. While results may be driven by unique sample characteristics, they may also indicate that an average level of traumatic event exposure does not significantly impact tobacco treatment outcomes among African Americans. Future research should examine the effects of higher levels of traumatic event exposure on treatment outcomes, as well as investigating the factors underlying trauma-exposed individuals’ difficulties with reducing/quitting smoking in a larger, more diverse African American sample.

KEYWORDS:

• Trauma
• cigarette smoking
• tobacco treatment
• African Americans

Funding

This work was supported by theNational Cancer Institute [5P20CA192991, P20 CA192993; PI: Sheffer] and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities [R01 MD007054; PI: Sheffer].

Disclaimer

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.