The ABOUT™—Perceived Risk is a self-report instrument, developed by Philip Morris Products SA, designed to assess perceived risks associated with the use of a wide range of tobacco and/or nicotine containing products (TNP), such as cigarettes, e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and heated tobacco products. Its original five-domain conceptual framework (perceived: health risk to self, addiction risk, harm to others, social risk, and practical risk) was developed on the basis of qualitative studies, literature review, and input from experts. Although draft versions of scales for representing each of the five domains were developed and cognitively debriefed, only the Perceived Health Risk and Addiction Risk scales were initially psychometrically validated in two quantitative studies, and “harm to others” was captured by three items to be treated as single item.

Here, we describe the subsequent psychometric evaluation of the Perceived Social and Practical Risk scales, using data collected in an independent cross-sectional study in the United States among adult TNP users.

A sample of exclusive TNP and poly-TNP users (n = 1250 in each sample) completed the Perceived Social Risk (13 items) and Perceived Practical Risk (9 items) scales in an online survey. Psychometric evaluation was based on Rasch Measurement Theory (RMT) and Classical Test Theory (CTT) analysis.

An item-reduced scale was derived for both Perceived Social (7 items) and Practical (6 items) Risk. The item-reduced Social and Practical Risk scales showed no indication of differential item functioning and exhibited high reliability (Rasch PSI 0.90 and 0.81; Cronbach’s alpha 0.96 and 0.92, respectively) and good stability over time (test–retest reliability, 0.76 and 0.74, respectively).

The psychometric performance of the new Perceived Social Risk and Perceived Practical Risk scales supported the expansion of the ABOUT—Perceived Risk instrument to include better coverage of perceived risk measurement. The instrument will be made available through PROQOLID™.