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External Validation of a Single-Item Scale to Measure Motivation to Stop Smoking: Findings from a Representative Population Survey (DEBRA Study)

Pashutina, Y; Kastaun, S; Ratschen, E; Shahab, L; Kotz, D; (2021) External Validation of a Single-Item Scale to Measure Motivation to Stop Smoking: Findings from a Representative Population Survey (DEBRA Study). Sucht , 67 (4) pp. 171-180. 10.1024/0939-5911/a000719. Green open access

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Abstract

Aims: The Motivation to Stop Scale (MTSS) is a single-item English language scale for predicting attempts to quit smoking. The aim of the study was an external validation of a German version of the MTSS (Motivation zum Rauchstopp Skala, MRS) based on a sample of current tobacco smokers in Germany. Methods: We used data from the first 18 waves (June 2016-May 2019) of the DEBRA study (German Study on Tobacco Use): a nationwide, face-to-face household survey of persons aged 14 years and older with one follow-up telephone interview after 6 months. We analysed data from 767 current smokers. The MRS was used at baseline (level 1-7 = no to highest motivation). At follow-up, the number of quit attempts since baseline were measured. We conducted logistic regression analyses and calculated the discriminant accuracy of MRS using the Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC-AUC). Results: At baseline, 61.1 % (n = 469; 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 57.7-64.6) of current 767 tobacco smokers were not motivated to quit smoking (MRS level 1-2). Overall, 185 of the 767 smokers (24.1 %; CI = 21.1-27.1) made at least one quit attempt between the baseline and follow-up survey. The odds of reporting a quit attempt increased with increasing motivation to stop smoking on the MRS: odds ratio = 1.37, 95 % CI = 1.25-1.51. The discriminative accuracy of the MRS was ROC-AUC = 0.64. Conclusion: The MRS is a brief and valid measurement for assessing the motivation to stop smoking in the German language.

Type: Article
Title: External Validation of a Single-Item Scale to Measure Motivation to Stop Smoking: Findings from a Representative Population Survey (DEBRA Study)
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1024/0939-5911/a000719
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1024/0939-5911/a000719
Language: English
Additional information: © 2021 The Author(s) Distributed as a Hogrefe OpenMind article under the license CC BY-NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0)
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Behavioural Science and Health
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10134392
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