Gastrointestinal-specific anxiety and smoking abstinence expectancies among persons with irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a chronic disorder of gut-brain interaction, is associated with significant life impairment. Smoking has been associated with gastrointestinal problems, but research focused on IBS and smoking is highly limited. The current work sought to evaluate gastrointestinal anxiety (hereafter GI-specific anxiety), an individual difference factor linked to IBS symptom severity and smoking, in terms of smoking abstinence expectancies (i.e., beliefs about the consequences of not smoking) among adults with IBS who smoke. The sample consisted of 263 adults who met criteria for IBS and endorsed smoking 5 or more cigarettes per day (52.1% female; M_age = 44.1 years, SD = 12.71). Hierarchical regression results indicated that greater GI-specific anxiety was associated with higher negative mood, somatic symptoms, and harmful and positive consequences abstinence expectancies; effects ranged from small to medium (4% unique variance for positive consequences to 15% for harmful consequences for somatic symptoms) and were evident after accounting for a wide range of covariates (e.g., depressive symptoms). Overall, the current investigation found that GI-specific anxiety was associated with negative and positive abstinence expectancies among adults with IBS who smoke. Such data are the first to identify individual differences in GI-specific anxiety for abstinence expectancies among a sample of individuals with IBS.