Abstract
Instruments that evaluate alcohol use consequences among young people do not consider the intensive alcohol consumption pattern that is so characteristic during these ages. Some of these instruments are even ineffective in the Spanish population. Hence the interest in developing an instrument more adapted to the reality of our young people. A total of 601 university students (35.9% male and 64.1% female) from 18 to 20 years old were recruited. All of them answered a total of 77 items obtained from the review of both the scientific literature and the different scales used to measure consequences derived from alcohol consumption. In addition, they completed the AUDIT and the Timeline Followback for self-reported consumption. The data were analyzed using factor analysis and a two-parameter logistic model. ROC curve analysis was used to establish cut-off points for different risk levels of alcohol consumption distinguishing between genders. The final 43-item scale Alcohol Consumption Consequences Evaluation (ACCE) (Evaluación de Consecuencias derivadas del Consumo de Alcohol [ECCA]) shows adequate psychometric properties: α = 0.94; unidimensionality through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (26.25% of explained variance) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (RMSEA = 0.39; TLI and CFI > 0.90). In addition, ROC analyses, both at a global scale and distinguishing between genders, were able to characterize consumers with different levels of risk, obtaining areas under the curve between 0.82 and 0.88. A scale has been obtained that enables the establishment of cut-off points to distinguish between the consequences of low, moderate and high risk alcohol consumption. The clinical utility of the ACCE is highlighted by using one single instrument to perform the screening of a possible alcohol risk consumption as well as identifying the consequences that need to be worked on in the evaluated person’s or group’s intervention.
Highlights
Alcohol consumption has been listed as a public health problem by being associated with a wide range of negative consequences (Hingson, 2010; Mason-Jones and Cabieses, 2015; De Bruyn et al, 2017; World Health Organization [WHO], 2018)
This article describes the psychometric properties of a measurement scale designed to evaluate a wide range of consequences associated with alcohol consumption in Spanish youth, both in males and females
The discrimination parameter, which indicates that the small divergences in the trait are associated with a large difference in the probability of item acceptance, reports that the most discriminating items are those related to impulsivity behavior and relationships with those close to you
Summary
Alcohol consumption has been listed as a public health problem by being associated with a wide range of negative consequences (Hingson, 2010; Mason-Jones and Cabieses, 2015; De Bruyn et al, 2017; World Health Organization [WHO], 2018). People with dependency are more likely to experience damage due to their consumption, most of the problems associated with alcohol appear in nondependent people (World Health Organization [WHO], 2001), especially among the young population (Cranford et al, 2006; Wechsler and Nelson, 2008). In this last group, we must highlight the high incidence of alcohol consumers. In the United States 38% of university students aged 18– 22 years reported carrying out risky consumption in the form of BD during the previous month, compared to 33% of their non-student peers (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2016) and in the United Kingdom, more than 60% of university students recognized engaging in BD (Cooke et al, 2007; Norman et al, 2012)
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