A Validity Test of the Short Form Vaping Consequences Questionnaire

Abstract

Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) students (n = 14) from undergraduate classes were asked about their vaping history and dependence, assessed on the reasons for vaping via the Short Vaping Consequences Questionnaire (S-VCQ), exposed to images that elicited negative affect, and then periodically assessed for their current mood and urge to vape. This study was conducted to test the predictive validity of the S-VCQ Negative Reinforcement/Negative Affect Reduction sub-scale by correlating average scores of the Negative Reinforcement/Negative Affect Reduction sub-scale to the urge to vape when experiencing acute negative affect. The results of the study did not find a significant correlation between these two factors, which is a similar result to what Perkins et al. (2012) found in their test of predictive validity for the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire (SCQ). Potential opportunities to improve the procedure and this line of research are evaluated in the discussion portion.