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Validation of the Spanish Version of the Marijuana Consequences Questionnaire (S-MACQ)

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Abstract

The present study aimed to validate the Spanish version of the 50-item Marijuana Consequences Questionnaire (S-MACQ) by analyzing the psychometric properties of internal, convergent, and concurrent validity and estimating internal consistency. We also examined the correlation between the brief (SB-MACQ) and the full S-MACQ and whether they similarly correlate with marijuana outcomes and marijuana-related variables. A sample of 470 college students that reported last year marijuana use completed an online survey. Results from confirmatory factor analyses supported an 8-factor structure. The scores of the S-MACQ showed appropriate internal, concurrent, and convergent validity, alongside with adequate internal consistency. The S-MACQ was largely correlated with the BS-MACQ and the correlations between these two versions and marijuana outcomes/marijuana-related variables did not significantly differ. Findings supported the S-MACQ as a valid measure to assess marijuana-related problems in Spanish-speaking students, and it may be effectively used to identify a broad diversity of marijuana problems in this population.

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Correspondence to Angelina Pilatti.

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Study procedures were reviewed and approved by the National Agency for Promotion of Science and Technology. The study was conducted in accordance with the declaration of Helsinki and it followed the ethical guidelines of the American Psychological Association (2016) and the Argentinean National Law for the Protection of Personal Data.

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All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all participants for being included in the study.

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Pilatti, A., Bravo, A.J. Validation of the Spanish Version of the Marijuana Consequences Questionnaire (S-MACQ). Int J Ment Health Addiction 20, 1695–1708 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00474-y

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