Validity and reliability of college students' responses to the Reasons for Smoking Scale

Understanding why individuals smoke is an important first step when planning interventions. The Reasons for Smoking Scale (RFSS) was created in 1966 and has been further developed since its inception. The scale consists of 18 questions, each linked to one of six subscales: stimulation, handling, pleasurable relaxation, tension reduction, psychological addiction, and habit. Responses to the scale from a variety of populations have been shown to be reliable and valid. The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of college students' responses to the RFSS. Respondents that identified themselves as smokers (110/510, 21.6%) completed the RFSS as part of a larger study. Participants recorded responses of never, seldom, sometimes, often or always for each question. Using AMOS 6.0, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. The model fit was evaluated using chi-square (χ²), Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), and Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI). The original model fell short of providing a good fit, χ²(130)=343.856, RMSEA=0.123, CFI=0.793, TLI=0.756. Internal consistency reliability coefficients analyzed using SPSS 14.0 ranged from 0.615 to 0.912. Three subscales improved reliability by removing an item: stimulation (α=0.811), psychological addiction (α=0.844), and habit (α=0.804). The handling subscale α=0.615) was dropped from the model. Although the fit indices showed improvement with these modifications, good model fit was not established, χ²(50)=148.059, RMSEA=0.134, CFI=0.872, TLI=0.831. More research should be conducted to determine if the RFSS is appropriate for use among college students, especially if the intent is to design interventions based on RFSS results.