title: Revisiting the factor structure of the questionnaire on smoking urges.
abstract: This study assessed the factor structure of the Questionnaire on Smoking Urges (QSU), a commonly used assessment of cravings for cigarettes, with a sample of smokers presenting for treatment in a smoking cessation trial. On the basis of previous research, three confirmatory factor analytic models were tested. Model 1 hypothesized a 26-item, 2-factor model using the items reported in the original QSU analysis by S. T. Tiffany and D. J. Drobes (1991). Model 2 hypothesized a 12-item, 2-factor model comprised of the 6 most robust items found in each of the 2 factors of the original factor analysis. Using the 12 items from Model 2, Model 3 hypothesized a 12-item, 1-factor model. The 2nd model was found to fit the data best. Reliability was also tested using values obtained in this 2nd model, and these estimates were found to be reasonably good. Future research directions for the QSU are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 1 Long Wharf Drive, Box 18, New Haven, CT 06511, USA. benjamin.toll@yale.edu
authors.forename: Benjamin A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Toll
authors.forename: Sherry A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: McKee
authors.forename: Suchitra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krishnan-Sarin
authors.forename: Stephanie S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: O'malley
mesh_terms: D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires