David R. Strong

Bio: David R. Strong is an academic researcher from University of California, San Diego. The author has contributed to research in topics: Smoking cessation & Population. The author has an hindex of 56, co-authored 258 publications receiving 13460 citations. Previous affiliations of David R. Strong include Butler Hospital & University of California, Los Angeles.

Evaluation of a behavioral measure of risk taking: the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART).

Abstract: The present study (N 86) sought to evaluate a laboratory-based behavioral measure of risk taking (the Balloon Analogue Risk Task; BART) and to test associations between this measure and self-report measures of risk-related constructs as well as self-reported real-world risk behaviors. The BART evidenced sound experimental properties, and riskiness on the BART was correlated with scores on measures of sensation seeking, impulsivity, and deficiencies in behavioral constraint. Also, riskiness on the BART was correlated with the self-reported occurrence of addictive, health, and safety risk behaviors, with the task accounting for variance in these behaviors beyond that accounted for by demographics and self-report measures of risk-related constructs. These results indicate that the BART may be a useful tool in the assessment of risk taking.

Association of Electronic Cigarette Use With Initiation of Combustible Tobacco Product Smoking in Early Adolescence

Abstract: Importance Exposure to nicotine in electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) is becoming increasingly common among adolescents who report never having smoked combustible tobacco. Objective To evaluate whether e-cigarette use among 14-year-old adolescents who have never tried combustible tobacco is associated with risk of initiating use of 3 combustible tobacco products (ie, cigarettes, cigars, and hookah). Design, Setting, and Participants Longitudinal repeated assessment of a school-based cohort at baseline (fall 2013, 9th grade, mean age = 14.1 years) and at a 6-month follow-up (spring 2014, 9th grade) and a 12-month follow-up (fall 2014, 10th grade). Ten public high schools in Los Angeles, California, were recruited through convenience sampling. Participants were students who reported never using combustible tobacco at baseline and completed follow-up assessments at 6 or 12 months (N = 2530). At each time point, students completed self-report surveys during in-classroom data collections. Exposure Student self-report of whether he or she ever used e-cigarettes (yes or no) at baseline. Main Outcomes and Measures Six- and 12-month follow-up reports on use of any of the following tobacco products within the prior 6 months: (1) any combustible tobacco product (yes or no); (2) combustible cigarettes (yes or no), (3) cigars (yes or no); (4) hookah (yes or no); and (5) number of combustible tobacco products (range: 0-3). Results Past 6-month use of any combustible tobacco product was more frequent in baseline e-cigarette ever users (n = 222) than never users (n = 2308) at the 6-month follow-up (30.7% vs 8.1%, respectively; difference between groups in prevalence rates, 22.7% [95% CI, 16.4%-28.9%]) and at the 12-month follow-up (25.2% vs 9.3%, respectively; difference between groups, 15.9% [95% CI, 10.0%-21.8%]). Baseline e-cigarette use was associated with greater likelihood of use of any combustible tobacco product averaged across the 2 follow-up periods in the unadjusted analyses (odds ratio [OR], 4.27 [95% CI, 3.19-5.71]) and in the analyses adjusted for sociodemographic, environmental, and intrapersonal risk factors for smoking (OR, 2.73 [95% CI, 2.00-3.73]). Product-specific analyses showed that baseline e-cigarette use was positively associated with combustible cigarette (OR, 2.65 [95% CI, 1.73-4.05]), cigar (OR, 4.85 [95% CI, 3.38-6.96]), and hookah (OR, 3.25 [95% CI, 2.29-4.62]) use and with the number of different combustible products used (OR, 4.26 [95% CI, 3.16-5.74]) averaged across the 2 follow-up periods. Conclusions and Relevance Among high school students in Los Angeles, those who had ever used e-cigarettes at baseline compared with nonusers were more likely to report initiation of combustible tobacco use over the next year. Further research is needed to understand whether this association may be causal.

Toward Efficient and Comprehensive Measurement of the Alcohol Problems Continuum in College Students: The Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire

Abstract: Background: Although a number of measures of alcohol problems in college students have been studied, the psychometric development and validation of these scales have been limited, for the most part, to methods based on classical test theory. In this study, we conducted analyses based on item response theory to select a set of items for measuring the alcohol problem severity continuum in college students that balances comprehensiveness and efficiency and is free from significant gender bias. Method: We conducted Rasch model analyses of responses to the 48-item Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire by 164 male and 176 female college students who drank on at least a weekly basis. An iterative process using item fit statistics, item severities, item discrimination parameters, model residuals, and analysis of differential item functioning by gender was used to pare the items down to those that best fit a Rasch model and that were most efficient in discriminating among levels of alcohol problems in the sample. Results: The process of iterative Rasch model analyses resulted in a final 24-item scale with the data fitting the unidimensional Rasch model very well. The scale showed excellent distributional properties, had items adequately matched to the severity of alcohol problems in the sample, covered a full range of problem severity, and appeared highly efficient in retaining all of the meaningful variance captured by the original set of 48 items. Conclusions: The use of Rasch model analyses to inform item selection produced a final scale that, in both its comprehensiveness and its efficiency, should be a useful tool for researchers studying alcohol problems in college students. To aid interpretation of raw scores, examples of the types of alcohol problems that are likely to be experienced across a range of selected scores are provided.

Distress tolerance and duration of past smoking cessation attempts.

Abstract: The present study tested the hypothesis that limited ability to tolerate physical and psychological distress is associated with early relapse from smoking cessation. Specifically, the authors exposed 16 current smokers who had failed to sustain any previous quit attempt for more than 24 hr (immediate relapsers) and 16 smokers with at least 1 sustained quit attempt of 3 months or longer (delayed relapsers) to psychological (mental arithmetic) and physical (carbon dioxide inhalation-breath holding) stressors. Relative to delayed relapsers, immediate relapsers were characterized by higher baseline levels of affective vulnerability, by greater levels of dysphoria and urge to smoke after 12 hr of nicotine deprivation, and by less task persistence on the stressors, suggesting that these may be risk factors for early lapse in the context of quitting smoking.

Development and Preliminary Validation of the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: A substantial proportion of U.S. college students drink alcoholic beverages and report significant deleterious effects. The present study describes the development and initial validation of a measure designed to capture a broad range of alcohol-related consequences experienced by male and female college students. METHOD: College students (N=340, 176 women) completed a self-report questionnaire battery consisting of information about demographic characteristics, drinking behaviors, and drinking consequences. Drinking consequences were assessed with a composite measure based on the Drinker Inventory of Consequences, the Young Adult Alcohol Problem Screening Test (YAAPST) and items developed by the researchers. To assess concurrent validity, a subset of the total sample (n=126) also completed the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI). RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses supported an eight-factor solution (Social-Interpersonal Consequences, Impaired Control, Self-Perception, Self-Care, Risk Behaviors, Academic/Occupational Consequences, Physical Dependence, and Blackout Drinking), with all factors loading on a single, higher-order factor. YAACQ total scores correlated with alcohol quantity and frequency, and the RAPI. Gender comparisons suggest that the YAACQ assesses constructs of interest equally well for women and men. CONCLUSIONS: These results offer preliminary support for this measure. Research and clinical applications include the potential to predict future problems by specific type of consequence and to offer detailed feedback about drinking consequences to students as part of a preventive intervention. As such, the YAACQ may serve as an aid in both the description of and intervention for heavy drinking in college.

Multiple Imputation for Nonresponse in Surveys

Abstract: 25. Multiple Imputation for Nonresponse in Surveys. By D. B. Rubin. ISBN 0 471 08705 X. Wiley, Chichester, 1987. 258 pp. £30.25.

Does changing behavioral intentions engender behavior change? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence.

Abstract: Numerous theories in social and health psychology assume that intentions cause behaviors. However, most tests of the intention- behavior relation involve correlational studies that preclude causal inferences. In order to determine whether changes in behavioral intention engender behavior change, participants should be assigned randomly to a treatment that significantly increases the strength of respective intentions relative to a control condition, and differences in subsequent behavior should be compared. The present research obtained 47 experimental tests of intention-behavior relations that satisfied these criteria. Meta-analysis showed that a medium-to-large change in intention (d = 0.66) leads to a small-to-medium change in behavior (d = 0.36). The review also identified several conceptual factors, methodological features, and intervention characteristics that moderate intention-behavior consistency.

Evaluation of a behavioral measure of risk taking: the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART).

Abstract: The present study (N 86) sought to evaluate a laboratory-based behavioral measure of risk taking (the Balloon Analogue Risk Task; BART) and to test associations between this measure and self-report measures of risk-related constructs as well as self-reported real-world risk behaviors. The BART evidenced sound experimental properties, and riskiness on the BART was correlated with scores on measures of sensation seeking, impulsivity, and deficiencies in behavioral constraint. Also, riskiness on the BART was correlated with the self-reported occurrence of addictive, health, and safety risk behaviors, with the task accounting for variance in these behaviors beyond that accounted for by demographics and self-report measures of risk-related constructs. These results indicate that the BART may be a useful tool in the assessment of risk taking.