E-cigarette Dependence Measures in Dual Users: Reliability and Relations With Dependence Criteria and E-cigarette...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Addiction Science
• Tobacco Control

Background:

• Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have altered the nicotine and tobacco product landscape, but their public health impact remains unclear.
• Developing reliable and valid measures of e-cigarette dependence is crucial for assessing and predicting their public health consequences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the internal consistency, structure, and validity of three e-cigarette dependence scales.
• To compare the psychometric properties of the e-cigarette Fagerström Test of Cigarette Dependence (e-FTCD), the e-cigarette Wisconsin Inventory of Smoking Dependence Motives (e-WISDM), and the Penn State Electronic Cigarette Dependence Index (PS-ECDI).

Main Methods:

• Adult dual users (N=256) completed the e-FTCD, e-WISDM, and PS-ECDI at baseline.
• Participants provided urine cotinine samples and reported e-cigarette use at 1-year follow-up.

Main Results:

• The e-WISDM demonstrated the highest internal consistency (α = .81–.96), followed by the PS-ECDI (α = .74) and e-FTCD (α = .51).
• A single-factor structure was supported for the e-FTCD, an 11-factor structure for the e-WISDM, but not for the PS-ECDI.
• All three scales correlated significantly with continued e-cigarette use at 1 year, indicating validity.

Conclusions:

• The e-WISDM and PS-ECDI are more reliable measures of e-cigarette dependence than the e-FTCD.
• All three scales (e-FTCD, PS-ECDI, e-WISDM) are valid measures of e-cigarette dependence, correlating with heavy use and continued use over time.