Prevention of smoking in Middle School Students: Psychometric assessment of the Temptations to Try Smoking Scale

Authors

Heather A. McGee, University of Rhode Island
Steven F. Babbin, University of Rhode Island
Colleen A. Redding, University of Rhode IslandFollow
Andrea L. Paiva, University of Rhode IslandFollow
Karin Oatley, University of Rhode Island
Kathryn S. Meier, University of Rhode Island
Magdalena Harrington, University of Rhode Island
Wayne F. Velicer, University of Rhode IslandFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of Original Version

2012

Abstract

Establishment of psychometrically sound measures is critical to the development of effective interventions. The current study examined the psychometric properties, including factorial invariance, of a six item Temptations to Try Smoking Scale on a sample of middle school students. The sample of 6th grade students (N = 3527) was from 20 Rhode Island middle schools and was 52% male and 84% white. The Temptations to Try Smoking Scale consisted of two correlated subscales: Positive Social and Curiosity/Stress. Structural equation modeling was implemented to evaluate the factorial invariance across four different subgroups defined by gender (male/female), race (white/black), ethnicity (Hispanic/Non-Hispanic), and school size (< 200/ > 200 6th graders). A model is factorially invariant when the measurement model is the same in each of the subgroups. Three levels of invariance were examined in sequential order: 1) Configural Invariance (unconstrained nonzero factor loadings); 2) Pattern Identity Invariance (equal factor loadings); and 3) Strong Factorial Invariance (equal factor loadings and measurement errors). Strong Factorial Invariance provided a good fit to the model across gender (CFI = .96), race (CFI = .96), ethnicity (CFI = .94), and school size (CFI = .97). Coefficient Alphas for the two subscales, Positive Social and Curiosity/Stress, were .87 and .86, respectively. These findings provide empirical support for the construct validity of the Temptations to Try Smoking Scale in middle school students.

Citation/Publisher Attribution

McGee, H. A., Babbin, S. F., Redding, C., Paiva, A., Oatley, K., Meier, K. S., Harrington, M., & Velicer, W. F. (2012). Prevention of smoking in Middle School Students: Psychometric assessment of the Temptations to Try Smoking Scale. Addictive Behaviors, 37(4), 521-523. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2011.11.013

Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2011.11.013

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