There were limitations to this investigation that should be acknowledged. The computerized DIS may not be the ideal method of assessing DSM-IV nicotine dependence symptoms. It is possible that an alternate approach, such as expert interview, would yield different results. Furthermore, the clinical nature of the study’s samples limits the generalizability of the findings. Specifically, the participants in the current study may have been more tobacco-dependent than the population of cigarette smokers. This could explain the lack of variance in some of the item responses (e.g. difficulty controlling use), which likely reduced the reliability of the measure, as well affected its relations with other variables (see [29]). Thus, the continued assessment of DSM-IV criteria may prove worthwhile.
