Self-administered Nicotine-Dependence Scale (SANDS): item selection, reliability estimation, and initial validation

Abstract

The Self-Administered Nicotine-Dependence Scale (SANDS) is a questionnaire to assist in the determination of the most appropriate intervention for the nicotine-dependent individual. Six content domains included are: (1) self-efficacy; (2) social skills deficit; (3) loss of control; (4) consequences of use; (5) social support for smoking; and (6) concern for healthy life-style. A preliminary set of 79 items was reduced to a 32-item scale, which, in turn, was divided into two non-overlapping subscales of 16 items each. Logistic regression analyses of an additional sample of subjects indicated that the SANDS added predictive power to knowledge of sex and transdermal-patch status for predictions of smoking status 6 months later.