Additional validity evidence for the PROMIS Smoking Assessment Toolkit

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Public Health
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• The Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) Smoking Initiative created six item banks to evaluate smoking behaviors and related biopsychosocial factors in adult smokers.
• Existing legacy measures for smoking assessment include the Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence (FTND), Questionnaire of Smoking Urges (QSU), and Wisconsin Inventory of Smoking Dependence Motives (WISDM).

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide new validity evidence for the PROMIS® Smoking item banks.
• To examine the correlations between the new PROMIS® Smoking item banks and established legacy smoking measures.

Main Methods:

• Data were collected from two independent samples of adult smokers: a follow-up sample (N=491) and a community sample (N=369).
• The study involved correlating scores from the new PROMIS® Smoking item banks with scores from legacy smoking measures (FTND, QSU, WISDM).

Main Results:

• Validity findings from previous research were largely replicated with the new data.
• Correlations among the PROMIS® item banks were moderate.
• Associations between PROMIS® bank scores and measures of smoking behavior, quitting history, and other PROMIS® measures aligned with expected patterns.
• PROMIS® nicotine dependence scores showed the strongest associations with legacy instruments.

Conclusions:

• The analyses provide robust evidence supporting the validity of the PROMIS® Smoking item banks.
• The PROMIS® Smoking item banks are reliable tools for assessing smoking behaviors and related factors in adult smokers.