title: Linking measures of adult nicotine dependence to a common latent continuum and a comparison with adolescent patterns.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An ongoing debate regarding the nature of nicotine dependence (ND) is whether the same instrument can be applied to measure ND among adults and adolescents. Using a hierarchical item response model (IRM), we examined evidence for a common continuum underlying ND symptoms among adults and adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  The analyses are based on two waves of interviews with subsamples of parents and adolescents from a multi-ethnic longitudinal cohort of one thousand and thirty-nine 6-10th graders from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Adults and adolescents who reported smoking cigarettes the last 30 days prior to waves 3 and 5 completed three common instruments measuring ND symptoms and one item measuring loss of autonomy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A stable continuum of ND, first identified among adolescents, was replicated among adults. However, some symptoms, such as tolerance and withdrawal, differed markedly across adults and adolescents. The majority of mFTQ items were observed within the highest levels of ND, the NDSS items within the lowest levels, and the DSM-IV items were arrayed in the middle and upper third of the continuum of dependence severity. Loss of autonomy was positioned at the lower end of the continuum. We propose a ten-symptom measure of ND for adolescents and adults.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite marked differences in the relative severity of specific ND symptoms in each group, common instrumentation of ND can apply to adults and adolescents. The results increase confidence in the ability to describe phenotypic heterogeneity in ND across important developmental periods.
authors.affiliation: Brown University, Butler Hospital, Providence, RI 2906, United States. david strong@brown.edu
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Strong
authors.forename: Yael Chatav
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Schonbrun
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schaffran
authors.forename: Pamela C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Griesler
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kandel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology