Amplified Reasons for Smoking Scale (ARSS): A New Tool To Evaluate Why People Smoke.

Abstract

Rationale: The Modified Reasons For Smoking Scale (MRSS) has been used to evaluate the motivations involved in smoking, and gives a 7 domains solution. Another tool to investigate "why people smoke" is the Wisconsin Inventory of Smoking Dependence Motives − WISDM−68. It has 68 questions and gives a 13 factors solution. The great number of questions of this scale may difficult its current clinical use. Objectives: To develop a new scale to evaluate smoking motivation, including the 7 MRSS factors, and 3 new ones derived from the WISDM−68. Methods: A Portuguese validated MRSS was employed. Nine questions of the WISDM−68 were selected and translated to Portuguese. A total of 311 smokers (214 male; age: 37.5 10.8 years) answered the 30 questions scale. The answers were evaluated by the Kayse−Meyer−Olkin and Barlett tests. The influences on the motivational factors of the daily number of smoked cigarretes (SC), years of smoking (YS), Fargestron test (FT), and exhaled carbon monoxide levels (ECO), were evaluated by ANOVA. Results:We have found a solution involving 25 questions and 9 factors: addiction, pleasure, tension reduction, stimulation, automatism, handling, social smoking, weight control, and affiliative attachment. The following significant associations were detected: addiction and DCC (r=0.34), FT (r=0.47), and ECO (r=0.27); tension reduction and female gender, SC (r=0.13), and FT (r=0.25); stimulation and SC (r=0.11), and FT (r=0.19); automatism and SC (r=0.33), YS (r=0.12), FT (r=0.34), and ECO (r=0.19); handling and female gender, and SC (r=0.12); social smoking and female gender, and FT (0.12); affiliative attachment and female gender, and YS (r=0,15), SC (r=0.16), FT (r=0.30), and ECO (r=0.13). Female gender was also associated to higher scores of weight control. Conclusions: The ARSS showed coherent associations with important clinical features related to smoking. This abstract is funded by: None.