Craving, withdrawal, and negative affect have been associated with risk for relapse in smoking cessation trials (McCarthy et al., 2006; Piper et al., 2011; Shiffman, 2005; Shiffman et al., 1997), yet relatively few studies have utilized rapid sampling procedures to precisely model the time course of these constructs (Brown et al., 2013; Hendricks, Ditre, Drobes, & Brandon, 2006). This study used a high-frequency EMA approach to characterize the dynamic interplay between withdrawal/NA, craving, and PA in moderate and heavy daily smokers during early nicotine abstinence. The first set of analyses sought to characterize the progression of craving, withdrawal/NA, and PA over early abstinence and to detect periods of nicotine deprivation where smoking groups significantly differed from one another. These data suggested that heavy smokers reported greater cigarette craving in very early abstinence (e.g. 1 to 4 hours), but that this initial group difference diminished over time. Heavy smokers were found to reach an early plateau, whereas the craving of moderate smokers steadily increased over the course of the day. A different pattern emerged for withdrawal/NA, such that in our data
