Rationale

Behavioral economics has shown that single-item demand indicators are promising for capturing crucial aspects of nicotine reinforcement. It is suggested that brief breakpoint measures perform comparably to full-length demand indices in characterizing nicotine dependence; however, there have been no thorough assessments of their validity in clinical settings.

Objectives

This study aimed to assess the validity and accuracy of a single-item breakpoint in informing on tobacco demand.

Methods

The sample consisted of 88 treatment-seeking smokers (% males = 70.5%) enrolled in substance use treatment. Participants provided data on smoking characteristics and completed the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, a single-item breakpoint measure and a 14-item cigarette purchase task (CPT). Hierarchical regressions were performed to compare the predictive capability of a single-item breakpoint and full-length tobacco demand indicators in determining nicotine addiction severity.

Results

The single-item breakpoint was significantly correlated with all indices stemmed from the CPT and both latent factors (all r values = .250–.368). Neither the brief breakpoint nor the full-length breakpoint significantly predicted nicotine dependence. After controlling for sex and smoking variables, factor 2 [β = .565, p < .001] and its observed variables Omax [β = .279, p = .006], 1/elasticity [β = .340, p = .001], and intensity [β = .551, p < .001], robustly predicted nicotine dependence severity.

Conclusions

Our findings do not support the validity of single-item breakpoint measures for characterizing nicotine dependence in substance users. In a bid to foster translational research, brief demand measures capturing Omax, intensity, and elasticity should be developed.

中文翻译：

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没有证据表明单项断点在告知物质使用障碍患者的烟草需求方面具有临床效用

基本原理

行为经济学表明，单项需求指标有望捕捉尼古丁强化的关键方面。建议短断点测量在表征尼古丁依赖方面的表现与全长需求指数相当；然而，尚未对其在临床环境中的有效性进行彻底评估。

目标

本研究旨在评估单一项目断点在告知烟草需求方面的有效性和准确性。

方法

样本包括 88 名参加物质使用治疗的寻求治疗的吸烟者（男性百分比 = 70.5%）。参与者提供了有关吸烟特征的数据并完成了尼古丁依赖的 Fagerström 测试、单项断点测量和 14 项卷烟购买任务 (CPT)。进行分层回归以比较单项断点和全长烟草需求指标在确定尼古丁成瘾严重程度方面的预测能力。

结果

单项断点与源自 CPT 的所有指数和两个潜在因素显着相关（所有r值 = .250–.368）。简短断点和全长断点均未显着预测尼古丁依赖性。控制用于性别和吸烟变量之后，因子2 [ β  = 0.565，p  <0.001]和它的观察到的变量OMAX [ β  = 0.279，p  = 0.006]，1 /弹性[ β  = 0.340，p  =。 001] 和强度 [ β  = .551, p  < .001]，有力地预测了尼古丁依赖的严重程度。

结论

我们的研究结果不支持用于表征物质使用者尼古丁依赖的单项断点测量的有效性。为了促进转化研究，应该开发捕捉 Omax、强度和弹性的简短需求度量。