Measuring Nicotine Dependence Among Adolescent and Young Adult Cigarillo Users

Area of Science:

• Tobacco control research
• Psychometric evaluation
• Addiction science

Background:

• Current nicotine dependence (ND) measures are primarily validated for cigarette smokers.
• This limits accurate assessment in users of other combustible tobacco products, such as cigarillos.
• Adolescent and young adult cigarillo smokers represent a population with unique ND profiles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of new and adapted items for measuring ND.
• To develop product-neutral assessment tools for cigarillo and polytobacco users.
• To ensure reliable and valid measurement of ND across different tobacco product use patterns.

Main Methods:

• Adapted items from the PROMIS Nicotine Dependence Item Bank and developed new items from qualitative data.
• Administered a 42-item web-based survey to 1089 participants aged 14-28 who smoked ≥2 cigarillos/week.
• Utilized confirmatory factor analysis, item response theory, differential item functioning analysis, and regression.

Main Results:

• The adapted item bank, comprising 40 items, demonstrated good score reliability and met item response theory fit criteria.
• Short forms (20, 8, and 4 items) also showed strong measurement properties.
• ND scores were positively associated with nicotine consumption levels (p < .001, R² = 0.33).

Conclusions:

• The adapted nicotine dependence item bank is psychometrically sound and product-neutral.
• These tools are suitable for assessing ND in cigarillo and polytobacco users.
• Provides initial evidence for the reliability and validity of short-form ND scores.