Valoración, afrontamiento y ansiedad a la hora de dejar de fumar

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyse the cognitive appraisal and types of coping strategies adopted by smokers upon quitting smoking. The assessment instrument used in a sample of 107 students is the Inventory of Appraisal and Coping (IAC), based on Lazarus & Folkman�s appraisal model (1986). The IAC is composed of three appraisal subscales (threat, challenge and irrelevant) and six coping subscales (cognitive and motorbehavioural directed at modifying the situation, cognitive and motor-behavioural directed at reducing the emotion, passive and avoidance). Results show that individuals suffer from higher levels of anxiety if they appraise �quitting smoking� as threatening (productmoment correlation = .61), than if they appraise it as challenging (no correlation) or irrelevant (signifi cant negative correlation). In addition, there was a positive and signifi cant correlation between appraising �quitting smoking� as threatening and avoidance coping, and a negative correlation between the former and active cognitive coping (cognitive strategies directed at modifying the situation and reducing the emotion). These results are in accordance with previous studies using the IAC in another high anxiety-provoking situation (Cano-Vindel & Miguel-Tobal, 1999). The need to assess primary appraisals and different types of coping strategies adopted by individuals upon smoking cessation is emphasized, given the fact that some of these are signifi cantly associated with anxiety levels, which in turn play an important role in tobacco addiction and failure to quit smoking.