Alternatively the effects of schizophrenia and depression on lifetime smoking might be explained by the misattribution hypothesis. This proposes that smokers misattribute the ability of cigarettes to relieve withdrawal, to their ability to relieve symptoms of psychological distress (Parrott, 1999, 2003). For example, withdrawal symptoms include depressed mood, anxiety and irritability, and smoking a cigarette alleviates those symptoms (Hughes, 2007). Since many withdrawal symptoms are similar to the negative symptoms of schizophrenia and mood symptoms in depression, their alleviation by smoking could give rise to the strong belief that smoking helps to alleviate mental health symptoms.
