Assessing alcohol abstinence self-efficacy in undergraduate students: psychometric evaluation of the alcohol abstinence self-efficacy scale.

Franklin N Glozah,Nana Ama Takyibea Adu,Joyce Komesuor

doi:10.1186/s12955-015-0387-1

Abstract

BackgroundAlcohol use is a major public health concern with respect to its impact on youth morbidity and mortality. Self-efficacy to abstain from alcohol use in young people is an important prevention and intervention strategy in future alcohol dependence. However, research on the assessment of self-efficacy to abstain from alcohol use among undergraduate students is almost non-existent in Ghana, apparently due to the unavailability of a standardised testing instrument. The purpose of this study was to examine the factor validity, structure, and reliability of the 20-item Alcohol Abstinence Self-efficacy Scale (AASES) in undergraduate students in Ghana.FindingsTwo hundred and fifteen undergraduate students studying in a private university with a mean age of 23.5 years participated in the study by completing the AASES.Results of a confirmatory factor analysis showed that the data did not fit the initial four-factor AASES model. Subsequent exploratory factor analysis showed that the AASES is a unidimensional construct (in the total sample and a subsample of drinkers), contrary to findings found in western cultures. The AASES also had a high Cronbach’s alpha. Although the AASES was unidimensional in this study, each of the original four-factor model also had high and acceptable Cronbach’s alpha.ConclusionThe original AASES structure was not confirmed in this study but a unidimensional factor was found suggesting that the AASES could be used as an instrument for assessing alcohol abstinence self-efficacy in undergraduate students in Ghana, although further validation research is needed in larger as well as in different samples.

Highlights

Alcohol use is a major public health concern with respect to its impact on youth morbidity and mortality
The original Alcohol Abstinence Self-efficacy Scale (AASES) structure was not confirmed in this study but a unidimensional factor was found suggesting that the AASES could be used as an instrument for assessing alcohol abstinence self-efficacy in undergraduate students in Ghana, further validation research is needed in larger as well as in different samples
Factorial validity and structure of the AASES As the ASSES was developed based on theoretical evidence and the aim of the study was to determine whether the current AASES is suitable for Ghanaian undergraduate students, a Simultaneous Confirmatory Factor Analysis (SCFA) was performed to examine whether the data fits the original 20-item AASES model

Summary

Introduction

Alcohol use is a major public health concern with respect to its impact on youth morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to examine the factor validity, structure, and reliability of the 20-item Alcohol Abstinence Self-efficacy Scale (AASES) in undergraduate students in Ghana. Self-efficacy refers to confidence in an individual’s ability to take action (either start or stop) in order to change a behaviour, through the alteration of the individual’s expectations of personal self-control and success [1]. The AASES is originally a 40-item instrument designed to assess self-efficacy with specific reference to abstaining from alcohol use. This instrument presents participants with four categories of high-risk situations related to alcohol abstinence: (1) negative affect, (2) social interactions and positive states, (3) physical pain/illness, and (4) alcohol craving (thoughts about using). It has been posited that clinicians could use the instrument repeatedly to assess progress (in treatment) in terms of self-evaluations [10]

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