A large literature attests to the role of negative affect (NA) in the etiology and maintenance of addictive behaviors. NA is consistently cited as a relapse trigger in retrospective reports (e.g., [67,68]), although participants might sometimes misattribute lapses to negative mood states[15]. In one study, individuals who were unable to sustain a smoking cessation attempt for more than 24 hours (compared to those with a sustained quit attempt) reported greater depressive symptoms and NA in response to stress and displayed less perseverance during experimental stress inductions [69]. Supporting the dynamic influence of NA on relapse, Shiffman and Waters [70] found that smoking lapses were not associated with NA in the preceding days, but were associated with rising NA in the hours leading up to a lapse. Evidence further suggests that negative affect can promote positive outcome expectancies [53] or undermine situational self-efficacy [71], outcomes which could in turn promote a lapse. Moreover, Baker and colleagues propose that high levels of negative affect can interfere with controlled cognitive processes, such that adaptive coping and decision-making may be undermined as negative affect
