title: Psychometric properties of the Autonomy over Tobacco Scale in German.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the psychometric properties of a German translation of the 12-item Autonomy over Tobacco Scale (AUTOS) among 1,195 eighth-grade students.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data for this study were collected as part of the fourth wave of data collection of the Smokefree Class Competition intervention in the Saxony-Anhalt region of Germany. Students from the control arm of the Smokefree Class Competition study who indicated that they had ever smoked 'at least a few puffs' on a cigarette were classified as ever-smokers. They self-completed questionnaires distributed by teachers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  AUTOS scores ranged from 0 to 36 with a distribution highly skewed toward lower-response categories. Inter-item correlations ranged from 0.65 to 0.89 (mean = 0.79, SD = 0.06). Composite reliability for the AUTOS was high (Ω = 0.96) and 3 lower-order factors were also reliable (withdrawal: 0.89, psychological dependence: 0.91, cue-induced cravings: 0.87). Concurrent validity was supported by strong relationships between the AUTOS and both lifetime cigarette consumption and current smoking frequency. Youths were 18 times more likely to be current smokers (95% CI = 11.9-27.2, p < 0.001) if they endorsed any AUTOS item.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The German AUTOS is reliable and valid, and the results are consistent with the English AUTOS for use with adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine & Community Health, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA. Robert.Wellman@umassmed.edu
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Wellman
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Di Franza
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morgenstern
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hanewinkel
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Isensee
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Sabiston
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires