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Biomedical subjects

R C Gunn

Publications and source records attributed to R C Gunn.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1986

Reactions to withdrawal symptoms and success in smoking cessation clinics.

This study reports on 285 smokers in cessation clinics who answered self-report measures of withdrawal symptoms and craving after quitting cigarettes "cold turkey." Almost all the subjects reported discomfort after stopping, but no particular symptom pattern emerged. Women reporting intense withdrawal symptoms and craving were less likely to remain stopped by the clinic's end. Although men were generally heavier smokers and reported as many symptoms as women, withdrawal distress was not related to their clinic outcomes. This sex difference may be explained by cultural learning which teaches men to be stoic in bearing discomfort and women to avoid small doses to pain.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Does living with smokers make quitting cigarettes more difficult?

To test the assumptions that living with smokers and having housemates with low interest in one's stopping smoking would make quitting cigarettes difficult, successful stoppers were compared with non-stoppers for housemates ' smoking and attitudes. Subjects were 147 people who attended several American Cancer Society Stop Smoking Clinics. Chances of stopping smoking were not enhanced by living either with non-smokers or with people believed to have high interest in one's stopping regardless of how close their relationship was. Giving up a smoking addiction seems to require inner motivation from the smoker, with external cues for smoking and support having minimal influence in a clinic stopping process.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Smoking clinic failures and recent life stress.

To test the assumption that people with greater current life stress would more likely fail at quitting smoking in stop smoking clinics, 231 smokers who attended at least one session of an ongoing series of clinics were given a "Life Change Inventory" and had their smoking status assessed at the clinic's end. A high life stress score was a strong predictor for men (n = 88) of continuing smoking and dropping out of the clinics, but not for the women (n = 143). No difference in the numbers of life change items was reported between the sexes. Younger, lighter-smoking women did significantly better at stopping than older, heavier-smoking females, a relationship not found in the males. For this sample's males, life stress appears to be an important factor reducing motivation when undertaking changing another habit. It seems reasonable to counsel males under high life stress about their low chances of stopping smoking before subjecting themselves to a failure experience in a clinic.

Adolescent↗