A Brief Negotiation Interview Adherence Scale for Smoking Cessation: A psychometric evaluation

Practitioner adherence to the Brief Negotiation Interview (BNI) for high-risk alcohol consumption and opioid use disorder can be measured using the BNI Adherence Scale, for alcohol (BAS-A) and opioids (BAS-O), respectively. However, no psychometrically validated brief intervention adherence scale for smoking cessation has been reported in the literature. Our objective was to develop and examine the psychometric properties of a BAS for smoking cessation (BASS). In the context of a clinical trial of the BNI in an emergency department (ED)-which incorporates motivational interviewing (MI), feedback, and behavioral contracting-plus nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), and a Smokers' Quitline referral and brochure (BNI), compared with brochure-only (control), we developed and examined the psychometric properties of the BAS-S, a scale that requires raters to answer whether each critical action of the BNI was implemented. Three independent raters rated three hundred and eighty-eight audio-recorded BNI sessions. The results indicated that the BAS-S had excellent internal consistency, and discriminant validity, inter-rater reliability, and construct validity. The following 3-factor (10-item) solution accounted for 43% of the variance: factor 1, "Feedback,", factor 2, "NRT Motivation," and factor 3, "Plan Negotiation." The study found predictive validity for the Feedback factor, suggesting that patients who were provided feedback on the harms of their smoking were significantly less likely to achieve biologically confirmed 7-day tobacco abstinence at their 3-month follow-up than those who were not provided such feedback (p < 0.03). The BAS-S is a psychometrically valid measure of adherence to the BNI for smoking cessation.