Exploring Relationships Among Experience of Regret, Delay Discounting, and Worries About Future Effects of Smoking Among Current Smokers.

BACKGROUND: Smoking regret differs by smoker characteristics (dependence) and may be linked to delay discounting (DD), where smaller immediate rewards are preferred to larger delayed rewards. It is hypothesized that those who exhibit stronger tendencies to delay rewards also express fewer future health concerns and possibly less regret about smoking.
OBJECTIVES: The objective is to determine the interrelationships of regret, dependence, and delay discounting among current smokers.
METHODS: In July 2010, 1062 smokers completed a 45-minute at-home web based survey and answered questions including regret, dependence (Fagerstrom Test for Cigarette Dependence), and delay discounting (Monetary Choice Questionnaire). Relationships among these variables and perceived future health effects were analyzed using correlations, repeated measures analysis of variance, and generalized linear models.
RESULTS: Most smokers (85%) regretted smoking. FTCD and log-k (DD) scores were positively associated (rs = 0.15, p < .001). Though a strong decline in log-k was shown as reward increased (p's < .001), there were no differences in discounting by regret. Regret was positively associated with worries concerning health effects, quality of life, and finances (p's < .001). Little association was found between DD and future health concerns. CONCLUSIONS/IMPORTANCE: Though this study confirms that regret for smoking is associated with perceived future risks as well as supports previous findings between FTCD and DD, it shows little association between DD and perceived future risks.