Assessment of alcohol use with multidimensional concepts and measures.

Abstract

Results from 15 years of research based on samples of substantial size are reviewed. These studies favor a hypothesis that the phenomena referred to as alcoholism are by no means unitary. The term alcoholism is best regarded as merely a rubric under which several distinct conditions can be grouped. Results from studies of the covariations among self-reported symptoms and other drinkingrelated variables indicate some 15 psychometrically independent first-order factors, the interrelationships among which indicate five broad second-order dimensions. These factors, as such, and combinations of these factors, as in second-order dimensions, provide reliable operational definitions of what people refer to when they use the word alcoholism. These different operational definitions correspond to different concepts (i.e., constructs). They have different relations to variables of etiology (as in a person's background and current conditions), variables of the total personality, variables of outcome following different kinds of treatment, and variables of life-span development. They provide a basis for diagnosing different problems associated with the use of alcohol, and for designing effective programs of therapy. In the future, improved theory, treatment, and social understanding of the use and abuse of alcohol should be premised on multivariate measurement.

Shared genetic contributions to early-onset drinking and drinking to cope motives

“…DTC was assessed using the mood management scale of the alcohol use inventory (Horn & Wanberg, 1983). The sources of the covariation between early first drink and DTC were estimated using bivariate twin modeling.…”

The relationship between personality type and style of Alcohol Use

“…Alcohol Use Inventory (AUI; Wanberg & Horn, 1983, 1985Wanberg, Horn, & Foster, 1977). The Alcohol Use Inventory was developed out of a series of studies designed to identify linear patterns of self-report variables that measure behaviors, attitudes, and symptoms associated with the use of alcohol.…”

A Brief Screening Measure of Adolescent Risk Behavior

“…The least frequently endorsed items were: using drugs with a needle (7%), sharing cutting objects (9%), exchanging sex for money or drugs (9%), ever had an STD (10%), ever been pregnant or been a dad (12%), thinking of cutting self (12%), and vomiting or using laxatives for weight control (12%). Table 2 presents the coefficient alphas, proportion of unique variance [42] for the determined factors, and the total sample means, standard deviations, and ranges for each of the factors. This preliminary analysis suggests that all subscales have reasonable internal consistency reliability and appear to be independent measures, rather than part of a single unitary construct.…”