Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Burlington VT, USA.
Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, Burlington VT, USA.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2023 Jun 9;25(7):1277-1282. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntad043.
Loss aversion (LA) is a bias in decision-making wherein potential losses have a greater influence on choices than equivalent gains. Such a bias may protect individuals from harm. Consistent with this idea, lower LA has been measured in individuals who endorse current cigarette smoking as well as other substance use compared to controls matched on important sociodemographic variables (age, gender, and educational attainment). The goal of the present study was to systematically replicate and extend this association between LA and smoking status by comparing those meeting criteria for current-, former-, and never-smoking status.
In total, 984 individuals (N = 984) that endorsed current cigarette smoking (past 30-day use; n = 361), former-smoking (no past 30-day use, >100 cigarettes lifetime; n = 317), and never-smoking (no past 30-day use, <100 cigarettes lifetime; n = 306) were recruited using standard crowdsourcing methods and completed measures of LA (50-50 gambles) and delay discounting (DD) (monetary choice questionnaire), an important decision-making bias with an established relationship to cigarette-smoking status.
Lower LA was observed in those endorsing current smoking compared to former smoking (t[952] = -9.57, Bonferroni corrected p < .0001), and never-smoking (t[952] = -3.99, Bonferroni corrected p = .0002). LA was also greater in former- compared to the never-smoking (t[952] = -5.26, Bonferroni corrected p < .0001). This pattern did not change when accounting for DD and sociodemographics. DD results replicated prior findings.
The results support LA as a decision-making bias related to the risk of cigarette smoking and other substance use. Further research is needed to understand the causal contributions of LA and DD and their potential intersections.
Low LA is a risk factor for cigarette smoking. This study reports higher LA among individuals that endorsed never-smoking and former-smoking status in comparison to those endorsing current cigarette smoking. LA may influence or be influenced by a change in smoking status.
损失规避（LA）是一种决策偏见，即潜在损失对选择的影响大于同等收益。这种偏见可以保护个人免受伤害。与控制组相比，目前吸烟以及其他物质使用的个体中已经测量到较低的 LA，这些个体在重要的社会人口统计学变量（年龄、性别和教育程度）上与之匹配。本研究的目的是通过比较符合当前、以前和从不吸烟状态标准的个体，系统地复制和扩展 LA 与吸烟状态之间的这种关联。
共有 984 名个体（N = 984），其中包括目前吸烟（过去 30 天使用；n = 361）、以前吸烟（过去 30 天无使用，一生中吸烟超过 100 支；n = 317）和从不吸烟（过去 30 天无使用，一生中吸烟少于 100 支；n = 306），他们是使用标准的众包方法招募的，并完成了 LA（50-50 赌博）和延迟折扣（DD）（货币选择问卷）的测量，DD 是一种与吸烟状态有既定关系的重要决策偏见。
与以前吸烟相比（t[952] = -9.57，Bonferroni 校正后 p <.0001），目前吸烟的个体表现出较低的 LA，与从不吸烟相比（t[952] = -3.99，Bonferroni 校正后 p =.0002）。与从不吸烟相比，以前吸烟的个体的 LA 也更大（t[952] = -5.26，Bonferroni 校正后 p <.0001）。当考虑到 DD 和社会人口统计学因素时，这种模式并没有改变。DD 的结果复制了之前的发现。
这些结果支持 LA 作为与吸烟和其他物质使用风险相关的决策偏见。需要进一步研究以了解 LA 和 DD 的因果贡献及其潜在的交叉点。
低 LA 是吸烟的危险因素。本研究报告称，与目前吸烟的个体相比，那些从未吸烟和以前吸烟的个体的 LA 更高。LA 可能会影响或受到吸烟状态变化的影响。
