title: A smoker identity measure for experimental, intermittent, and daily college student smokers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To provide initial tests of internal consistency reliability and both structural and concurrent validity of a smoker identity (SI) scale for college student populations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional design.
  
  
  METHODS
  Midsouth university.
  
  
  METHODS
  Undergraduates in a random sample of university classes completed surveys (92.3% response rate).
  
  
  METHODS
  SI items derived from a literature review and clinical expertise, lifetime and current tobacco use, cigarette purchasing patterns, and quitting variables.
  
  
  METHODS
  Current (some days or every day) cigarette users (n  =  362) were divided into daily, intermittent, and experimental smoker groups. After principal components analysis was conducted on the SI items, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess SI differentiation of smoker groups, and correlational analysis or ANOVA was used to assess SI relationships with smoking and quitting variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eight SI items produced a high-internal-consistency, single-factor structure (α  =  .93) and clearly differentiated the three smoker groups. Higher SI scores indicated greater smoking rate, smoking within 30 minutes of awakening, larger purchased quantities, and both greater interest and lower confidence in quitting.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The scale demonstrated good reliability and validity. Other SI measures exist, but this is the first scale to establish utility with experimental and intermittent smokers-substantial groups among college students. The extent to which cigarette users identify as smokers may provide useful information beyond behavioral measures, especially among college students.
authors.affiliation: Portland VA Medical Center, 3710 SW US Veterans Hospital Road, PO Box 1035, V3SATP, Portland, OR 97207, USA. josie.tracy@va.gov
authors.forename: Josie J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Tracy
authors.forename: Thomas W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Lombardo
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Bentley
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult