Development of a Risk Behavior Diagnosis Scale for E-cigarette Use.

Area of Science:

• Adolescent Health
• Behavioral Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Adolescent electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has significantly increased, raising health concerns.
• Brief, reliable measures are needed to assess adolescents' perceptions of e-cigarette risks and cessation.
• Existing measures may not adequately capture threat and efficacy related to e-cigarette use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a brief scale assessing adolescents' perceived threat and efficacy concerning e-cigarette use.
• To evaluate the psychometric properties of a new 12-item Likert-type scale.
• To provide a tool for researchers and public health professionals studying adolescent vaping.

Main Methods:

• A 12-item scale, modeled after the Risk Behavior Diagnosis Scale, was administered online to 674 adolescents.
• Factor analysis and Velicer's minimum average partial test were used to examine the scale's factor structure.
• Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and convergent/discriminant validity were assessed.

Main Results:

• Factor analysis confirmed a two-factor structure, explaining 68% of the variance.
• The scale demonstrated strong internal consistency (overall Cronbach's alpha = .93; threat subscale = .92; efficacy subscale = .87).
• The measure showed good convergent and discriminant validity with related constructs.

Conclusions:

• The newly developed 12-item scale exhibits strong preliminary reliability and validity.
• This measure is suitable for assessing perceived threat and efficacy in adolescent e-cigarette use.
• The scale can be a valuable tool for research on adolescent vaping prevention and intervention.