PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE DECISIONAL BALANCE SCALE AND THE TEMPTATIONS TO TRY SMOKING INVENTORY IN ADOLESCENTS

In recent years, concern about rising rates of smoking among youth has prompted researchers to study the process of smoking initiation. One of several theoretical frameworks that has been used to study this pro blem is the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM). Using cross-sectio nal data from a multi-ethnic cohort of 5th, 8th, and 12th grade studen ts, we examined the psychometric properties of two TTM scales: the Dec isional Balance Scale (DBS) and Temptations to Try Smoking Inventory ( TTSI). Nonlinear principal components analysis resulted in a two-compo nent solution for the 12-item DBS (''cons of smoking'' and ''pros of s moking'') accounting for 62.2% of the variance and a single-component solution for the 15-item TTSI that accounted for 63.7% of the variance . Cronbach alpha estimates of internal consistency for the cons of smo king, pros of smoking, and TTSI were 0.86, 0.77, and 0.94, respectivel y. Concurrent validity for the scales was evidenced by a steady increa se in the TTSI and pros of smoking scores and a steady decrease in con s of smoking scores when comparing more naive smoking statuses with mo re experienced smokers.