Date of Award

1-1-2016

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

School of Public Health

First Advisor

Marney A. White

Abstract

Introduction: Over the past two decades, the landscape of tobacco control has rapidly changed. Currently there exists no widely-used measure to assess attitudes towards smoking and tobacco policies in the United States. The primary goal of this research project was to develop and validate a timely questionnaire to measure these attitudes, with a particular focus on e-cigarettes and flavorings/additives.

Methods: Building upon the previously validated Smoking Policy Inventory (SPI; 1994), items were developed to assess attitudes toward current and/or controversial issues in tobacco policy. Items querying issues that are generally considered settled (e.g., smoking in restaurants) were removed from the original version, and 9 items pertaining to e-cigarettes were added. The resulting 34-item tool, titled the Yale Smoking Policy Survey (YSPS), was then validated in a sample of 343 respondents.

Results: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses support a final questionnaire with 30 items and 6 subscales, collectively explaining 75.2% of the total variance in response. Each subscale demonstrates good or excellent internal reliability (Chronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.813 to 0.934). Strong test-retest reliability, construct validity, and criterion validity were also established.

Conclusions: The YSPS is a psychometrically sound measure that fills a growing need in the field of tobacco regulatory science. Given recent changes in tobacco regulation, it is critical to adopt a new tool that can evaluate contemporary issues. The Yale Smoking Policy Survey is a reliable, valid, and versatile tool for assessing attitudes towards tobacco policy.

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