Background

Measures designed to assess electronic cigarette (ECIG) dependence are largely adapted from those developed for cigarette smoking, and have been evaluated mainly among dual ECIG-cigarette users. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of four dependence measures among former-smoking ECIG users.

Methods

Respondents (N = 187) were daily ECIG users who had formerly smoked cigarettes regularly. As part of an online survey, they completed four dependence measures: Penn State Electronic Cigarette Dependence Index (PSECDI); E-Cigarette Dependence Scale (EDS-4); Glover Nilsson Behavioral Questionnaire (GNBQ); and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th Edition (DSM-5).

Results

Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a single factor structure for all four measures, and fit indices were adequate for all models. Most inter-item correlations (mean r’s = 0.21 to 0.45) and all item-total correlations (mean r’s = 0.53 to 0.80) were significant for all four measures. Internal consistency was highest for the GNBQ (α = 0.86) followed by the EDS-4 (α = 0.81), PSECDI (α = 0.76), and DSM-5 (α = 0.75). Age of ECIG initiation was correlated negatively with scores on the EDS-4 and DSM-5, while number of ECIG quit attempts was correlated positively with scores on all measures except the GNBQ. Convergent validity was highest for comparisons between the EDS-4 and PSECDI (r = 0.75) though all comparisons were significant (p’s < 0.001).

Conclusions

All four measures demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity in this sample of former-smoking ECIG users.

中文翻译：

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曾经吸烟的电子烟使用者的电子烟依赖测量的心理测量特性

背景

旨在评估电子烟（ECIG）依赖性的措施很大程度上改编自针对吸烟而制定的措施，并且主要在双重电子烟使用者中进行了评估。本研究评估了曾经吸烟的 ECIG 用户的四种依赖性测量的心理测量特性。

方法

受访者 (N = 187) 是每天使用 ECIG 的人，以前经常吸烟。作为在线调查的一部分，他们完成了四项依赖性测量：宾夕法尼亚州立大学电子烟依赖性指数（PSECDI）；电子烟依赖量表（EDS-4）；格洛弗尼尔森行为问卷（GNBQ）；以及诊断和统计手册第五版 (DSM-5)。

结果

验证性因素分析揭示了所有四个指标的单因素结构，并且拟合指数对于所有模型来说都是足够的。大多数项目间相关性（平均r = 0.21 至 0.45）和所有项目总相关性（平均r = 0.53 至 0.80）对于所有四项指标均显着。 GNBQ (α = 0.86) 的内部一致性最高，其次是 EDS-4 (α = 0.81)、PSECDI (α = 0.76) 和 DSM-5 (α = 0.75)。 ECIG 开始年龄与 EDS-4 和 DSM-5 得分呈负相关，而 ECIG 戒烟尝试次数与除 GNBQ 之外的所有指标得分呈正相关。 EDS-4 和 PSECDI 之间的比较的收敛效度最高 ( r  = 0.75)，尽管所有比较都很显着 ( p < 0.001)。

结论

在这个曾经吸烟的 ECIG 用户样本中，所有四项指标均表现出可接受的可靠性和有效性。