The Factor Structure of a Dichotomously Scored Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index

Abstract

Heavy college-student alcohol use and its resulting negative consequences represent a public-health problem on American college campuses. The Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI) is a commonly used measure of alcohol problems among college students, but the psychometric properties of this measure never have been comprehensively assessed with the college-student population. The purpose of this research was to conduct reliability and validity analyses, particularly exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, on a dichotomously scored version of the measure. Data were collected on 4,686 undergraduate students at a large, public university in the Northwest region of the United States and 438 students at a large, public university in the Northeast. Exploratory factor analysis suggested that a three-factor model provided the best fit to the data. This finding was replicated via confirmatory factor analyses in two separate samples. The three factors were labeled Abuse/Dependence Symptoms, Personal Consequences, and Social Consequences. Each individual factor demonstrated adequate internal consistency and convergent validity. The results of this study suggest that a dichotomously scored RAPI consists of three subfactors that are reliable and valid in identifying alcohol-related problems among college students.