Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Malay Version of the Minnesota Nicotine Withdrawal Scale.

OBJECTIVES

Assessment of nicotine withdrawal symptoms is an essential part of tobacco dependence treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of a Malay translated version of the Minnesota Nicotine Withdrawal Scale (MNWS).

METHODS

The original scale was translated into Malay following the standard guidelines proposed for translation studies. The reliability and validity of the Malay version scale were evaluated on the basis of data collected from 133 participants. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated to assess the reliability. To validate the psychometric properties of the scale, factor analysis and construct validity were used. This study was conducted at the Quit Smoking Clinic at Penang General Hospital, Penang, Malaysia.

RESULTS

The translated scale has excellent reliability, with total Cronbach's alpha of 0.91. The test-retest reliability for the scale presented an excellent reliability and stability of the translated scale with Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (r = 0.876; P < 0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between the exhaled carbon monoxide level, Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence total score, and number of cigarettes smoked per day and the MNWS total score (r = 0.72, 0.68, and 0.68, respectively; P < 0.001). A principal-components analysis with orthogonal rotation yielded a unidimensional model that includes all the items of the MNWS.

CONCLUSIONS

The Malay version of the MNWS is a reliable and valid measure of withdrawal symptoms as well as the smoking urge, and it is applicable to clinical practice and research study.