The Relationship between Traumatic Life Events and Autobiographical Memory Characteristics and Smoking

Objective: The Basic Systems Model of Autobiographical Memory argues that when traumatic or stressful experiences become central to an individual's daily life, the accessibility to the experience in autobiographical memory increases, which triggers posttraumatic stress disorder by activating rumination. Smoking may be correlated with autobiographical memory in traumatic or stressful experiences. Thus, the autobiographical memory characteristics of individuals who experienced traumatic life events and the role of smoking in this relationship were investigated. Methods: A total of 453 people, 336 women and 117 men, participated in the study. Memory form and 4 self-report scales (Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, Life Events Checklist-5, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Short Scale, Autobiographical Memory Characteristics Questionnaire) were applied to the participants. Results: Results show that trauma is highly correlated with emotional valence, belief in accuracy, emotional intensity, and sensory details. Smoking correlates with sensory details, preoccupation with emotions, belief in accuracy, and emotional valence. Smoking moderates the relationship between trauma and emotional distance. Lastly, the accessibility which reveals trauma moderates the relationship between vividness and smoking. Conclusion: The findings are discussed in the context of the relevant literature

The development and validation of smoking scale

Background: Smoking is one of the most dangerous types of addiction in terms of prevalence, morbidity, and mortality due to its nicotine content. For this reason, using a reliable and valid measurement tool is critical to identify and assess the level of smoking accurately. Objective: The current study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of the Smoking Scale (SS) used in Turkey and to determine the psychometric properties of this scale. Methods: Therefore, the present study consisted of two stages, each of which was conducted with different participants, and a total of 991 participants, both smokers and non-smokers, were included in the sample. Results: The results obtained from the SS were found to be valid and reliable (Cronbach’s alpha =.91). The model fit indices obtained by confirmatory factor analysis were found to be within acceptable limits. It was also found that there was a positive and statistically significant relationship between smoking and depression, openness, impulses, and emotion regulation strategies. Conclusions: These findings are believed to contribute to future smoking studies, especially in determining the level of addiction