Development and psychometric properties of a short situational urge to smoke scale (SUS) for smoking adolescents.

As urges are associated with positive-social, negative-affective, and habitual situations, we developed a sound scale to assess urges in these situations. In Northeastern Germany in 2005/2006, a sample of 1,093 smoking adolescents from 7th to 10th grade, aged 12–18 years, was used. Reliability analysis and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied. A three-factorial structure of the final situational urge to smoke scale (SUS) was found. Internal consistency of the scale was high (α = .89). The SUS is a new internally consistent scale that assesses the urge to smoke in adolescents. Further research needs to examine its predictive validity. The study's limitations are noted.