Nicotine abstinence has been associated with symptoms of both increased negative affect (NA) and smoking urge/craving (Chandra, Scharf, & Shiffman, 2011; Zhou et al., 2009). In studies using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to measure real-time data in the natural environment, the severity of NA and craving are highly predictive of smoking lapse and relapse during abstinence (McCarthy, Piasecki, Fiore, & Baker, 2006; Piasecki et al., 2000; Piasecki, Fiore, & Baker, 1998; Piper, Loh, Smith, Japuntich, & Baker, 2011; Shiffman, 2005; Shiffman et al., 1997, 2007). While withdrawal, craving, and negative affect may each predict one’s ability to remain abstinent, the temporal and directional relationships between these constructs at the micro-longitudinal level remains unclear. For example, in both the laboratory and natural environment, NA is highly predictive of cigarette craving (Dunbar, Scharf, Kirchner, & Shiffman, 2010; Heckman et al., 2013; Shiyko, Naab, Shiffman, & Li, 2014). However, NA, withdrawal, and craving also appear to be dissociable, as they can display different temporal patterns within and across days (Chandra et al., 2011; Vasilenko et al., 2014) and their predictive relationship may vary
