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Factor Structure Validation of the Alcohol Dependence Scale in a Heavy Drinking College Sample

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Abstract

The prevalence of alcohol use disorders in college students necessitates that adequate measures exist to assess students for abuse and dependence. The Alcohol Dependence Scale (ADS) is a continuous measure of the severity of alcohol involvement found to have a unidimensional factor structure in clinical samples. The latent factor structure of the ADS in college drinkers has not been examined and this study sought to replicate unidimensionality. Heavy college drinkers (N = 343) completed the ADS. Performance was examined using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The CFA did not support a single factor solution. Follow-up EFA revealed a two factor structure. The first, termed “Acute Excessive Drinking” consisted of relatively commonly endorsed items relating to loss of behavioral control, blackouts, and obsessive/compulsive drinking. The second, termed “Severe Withdrawal Symptoms,” consisted of relatively infrequently endorsed items relating to withdrawal symptoms. The ADS does not appear to have the same factor structure in college and clinical samples, making it inadvisable as a linear measure of alcohol problems within a college population.

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Acknowledgments

This research was partially supported by National Institutes of Health grants K23 AA016936 and K23 AA016936-S1to James MacKillop, PhD. The authors are grateful to the following Research Assistants who contributed to data collection: Joseph Adams, Jennifer Czerniawski, Aziza Khan, Mariah Lane, Nicole Leibman, and David Menges.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602–3013, USA

    Cara M. Murphy & James MacKillop

  2. Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    James MacKillop

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  1. Cara M. Murphy
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  2. James MacKillop
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Correspondence to Cara M. Murphy or James MacKillop.

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Murphy, C.M., MacKillop, J. Factor Structure Validation of the Alcohol Dependence Scale in a Heavy Drinking College Sample. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 33, 523–530 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-011-9239-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-011-9239-4

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