A content analysis of smoking craving

The purpose of this study was to conduct a content analysis of smoking crav ing in order to investigate more precisely the subjective nature of the con struct with the goal of informing assessment. Thirty-two smokers interested in cessation treatment provided free response written descriptions of the level of craving they normally experience. These responses were analyzed fo r subjective content along five theoretical domains: physiological, affecti ve, cognitive, behavioral. and synonyms (of craving). Although there were n o differences in the relative proportion of broad content terms smokers use d to describe their craving (e.g., cognitive versus affective), this analys is revealed considerable diversity in the specific terms smokers used. Some smokers described their craving in purely physiological terms whereas othe rs used primarily cognitive terms, and still others used affective terms. T o assume that smoking craving is qualitatively similar across persons, then , may mask important variations that define the individual experience of cr aving. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons. Inc.