Development of a multidimensional measure of tobacco dependence in adolescence.
The objective of this research was to develop a multidimensional measure of tobacco dependence, sensitive to signs of incipient dependence and relevant to adolescents. A cross-sectional survey was conducted of students attending randomly selected high schools in two regions of British Columbia, Canada. Of the 3280 adolescents who completed the survey, 17% (n=562) indicated that they had smoked at least once in the month preceding the survey and were classified as "smokers." Ninety-one percent of the smokers (n=513) completed all or most of the items and comprised the sample for the analysis. The survey included a number of items related to smoking status and nicotine dependence, including the newly developed Dimensions of Tobacco-Dependence Scale (DTDS), a 54-item multidimensional measure of tobacco dependence. Exploratory factor analyses using MINRES was used to examine the dimensions of the DTDS. The measure was found to include four dimensions: social reinforcement, emotional reinforcement, sensory reinforcement, and physical reinforcement. All subscales had adequate reliability (Cronbach's alpha coefficients >.70).
Johnson
Joy L
JL
Nursing and Health Behaviour Research Unit (NAHBR), School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, 302-6190 Agronomy Road, Vancouver, Canada BC V6T 1Z3. Joy.Johnson@ubc.ca
Ratner
Pamela A
PA
Tucker
Rochelle S
RS
Bottorff
Joan L
JL
Zumbo
Bruno
B
Prkachin
Kenneth M
KM
Shoveller
Jean
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D001955:British Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004644:Emotions; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012677:Sensation; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012938:Social Perception; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology