Inspecting smoking addiction in youth in Türkiye: A latent class analysis using the Turkish version of the cigarette dependence scale

Abstract

Recent significant studies have focused on whether smoking behavior is a voluntary choice or an addiction. Inspired by these studies, this paper aims to explore smoking behavior in Türkiye using the Turkish version of the Cigarette Dependence Scale (CDS)−12. The study administered the Turkish CDS-12 scale to 651 college student smokers in Türkiye, involving three main components: construct and convergent validity, Latent Class Analysis, and ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) curve analysis. In the exploratory factor analysis, the scale explained 46.03% of the total variance with a one-factor structure, and the factor loadings ranged from 0.30 to 0.78. Additionally, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value demonstrated excellent suitability (KMO = 0.94). Confirmatory factor analysis results supported an excellent fit for the one-factor model (RMSEA = 0.034, NFI = 0.95, NNFI = 0.97, CFI = 0.98, GFI = 0.99, AGFI = 0.98). Furthermore, Cronbach’s alpha value reinforced this result (α = 0.91). The Latent Class Analysis identified three levels of smoking: ‘high-level addicted smokers’(26.8%), ‘middle-level addicted smokers’(49.7%) and ‘low-level addicted smokers’(23.5%). Notably, 31% of college students scored above 39, categorizing them as smoking addicts. In conclusion, the Turkish CDS-12 scale demonstrates validity and reliability, making it suitable for researching smoking addiction in Türkiye.