Psychometric properties and long-term predictive validity of the Addiction-Prone Personality (APP) scale

Abstract

The current study examined the psychometric properties and long-term predictive validity of the Addiction-Prone Personality (APP) scale in a general population sample. In the Winnipeg Health and Drinking Survey, self-reports of personality and alcohol use were gathered from a baseline sample ( n = 1257), and again at 7-year follow-up ( n = 788). The APP scale was developed at baseline by isolating personality items that were linked with both a family history of alcohol abuse/dependence, and a lifetime diagnosis of alcohol abuse/dependence. In the present study, internal consistency and testretest reliability coefficients were calculated. Three popular personality batteries, all measured at follow-up, were used to help assess the extent to which the APP could contribute in the prediction of additional variance in alcohol dependence symptoms. At baseline, demographic variables, two additional measures of addictive personality, alcohol consumption, and the APP were used in order to generate longitudinal logistic regression models predicting new cases of alcohol abuse/dependence. The APP measure showed adequate internal consistency (α = .73), test–retest reliability ( r = 74), and construct validity. The APP was also found to be a significant predictor of the development of new cases of alcohol abuse/dependence over the 7-year follow-up period, in adjusted models.