Predictors of DSM and Fagerstrom-Defined Nicotine Dependence in African American and Puerto Rican Young Adults

This study examined the psychosocial predictors of nicotine dependence, as defined by a variant of the criteria employed in the DSM-IVspecifically that of the University of Michigan Composite International Diagnostic Interview (UM-CIDI)and the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND). The study was conducted with a community sample of African American and Puerto Rican young adults (N = 475; mean age = 26). Predictor variables included physiologically based psychosocial (i.e., depressive symptoms and family problems with smoking) as well as social-behavioral psychosocial (i.e., rebelliousness and partner's problems with smoking) predictors of nicotine dependence. Using multiple regression analyses, UM-CIDI-defined dependence was predicted by each of the four psychosocial variables, while FTND-defined dependence was predicted only by the social-behavioral variables. These findings bear out the disparate dimensions of nicotine dependence each measure taps. Research and clinical implications of the findings are discussed, and the study's limitations are noted.