Measure Development for Prediction of E-cigarette Initiation

Principal Investigator: Paul Harrell

Funding Mechanism: National Institutes of Health - Grant

ID number: 1 R03 CA195124-01

Award Date: 9/18/2015

Institution: Eastern Virginia Medical School

Given the growth in e-cigarette use among young adults, developing an understanding of why cigarette smokers and non-smokers choose to use or not use e-cigarettes is critical. Assessing e-cigarette outcome expectancies (i.e., beliefs about the results of e-cigarette use) could be a key tool in predicting initiation. In this project, researchers will develop an e-cigarette expectancy questionnaire. Specific aims are: (1) to systematically assess young adult attitudes and experts’ opinions in order to develop an initial item pool for an “Electronic Cigarette Outcomes” measure; and (2) to refine the initial item pool via field testing. In the first phase of survey development (Aim 1), researchers will conduct focus groups with 80 young adults aged 18-24 years (including equal numbers of e-cigarette users, non-users, smokers, and non-smokers) and consult with an expert panel of researchers in order to develop a preliminary list of possible survey items. In the second phase, this preliminary list will be tested in 500 young adults aged 18-24 years (including e-cigarette users, non-users, smokers, and non-smokers). Researchers will then analyze the findings and use the results from these analyses to narrow down the items. The final survey will be a well-informed assessment of e-cigarette expectancies. This outcome expectancy measure for e-cigarettes will facilitate future research and may inform the development and evaluation of public health interventions.