The assessment of protective behavioral strategies: Comparing prediction and factor structures across measures.

Abstract

Protective behavioral strategies (PBS), or drinking control strategies, are specific behaviors one can utilize to minimize the harmful consequences of alcohol consumption. As there is not currently a standard measure of PBS, the goal of the present study was to examine the factor structure and concurrent validity of three scales designed to assess PBS: Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale (PBSS; Martens, M. P., Ferrier, A. G., Sheehy, M. J., Corbett, K., Anderson, D. A., & Simmons, A., 2005 Development of the Protective Behavioral Strategies Survey. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 66, 698-705), Protective Behavioral Strategies Measure (Novik, M. G., & Boekeloo, B. O., 2011, Dimensionality and psychometric analysis of an alcohol protective behavioral strategies scale. Journal of Drug Education, 41, 65-78. doi:10.2190/DE.41.1.d), and the Strategy Questionnaire (SQ); (Sugarman, D. E., & Carey, K. B., 2007), The relationship between drinking control strategies and college student alcohol use. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 21, 338-345. doi:10.1037/0893-164X.21.3.338). In a sample of college students (n=291), we used confirmatory factor analysis to examine the proposed factor structures of each scale. Although the theorized three-factor structure fit the data moderately well for the PBSS, the theorized factor structures for the Protective Behavioral Strategies Measure and SQ did not fit the data well. Further, the composite scores from the PBSS were all significantly negatively correlated with alcohol-related problems, whereas the composites of the SQ were not significantly correlated with alcohol-related problems. Although we have evidence in favor of 1 PBS measure over others, we discuss broader issues related to assessment of PBS. We consider the different instructions, response scales, and time intervals for various PBS measures in terms of how they relate to the advancement of PBS research.

Does the How Mediate the Why? A Multiple Replication Examination of Drinking Motives, Alcohol Protective Behavioral Strategies, and Alcohol Outcomes

“…Although multiple studies have confirmed the three-factor structure of the PBSS (e.g., Martens et al, 2007b;Pearson et al, 2012a), some researchers have found support for a twofactor (Madson et al, 2013) or four-factor solution (Walters et al, 2007). Although we know of no studies finding a singlefactor solution for the PBSS, each of the studies reviewed above used either a single total score or latent variable with PBSS subscales as indicators, which again could obfuscate the true relationships among PBS use and alcohol outcomes.…”

The Efficacy of a Standalone Protective Behavioral Strategies Intervention for Students Accessing Mental Health Services

“…A growing body of literature suggests that different types of PBS may not be equally useful for reducing alcohol risk (Napper, Kenney, Lac, Lewis, & LaBrie, 2014). For example, strategies aimed at avoiding consequences or changing the way a student drinks are more closely related to less drinking and consequences than strategies that involve stopping or limiting drinking (Frank, Thake, & Davis, 2012; Napper et al, 2014; Pearson, Kite, & Henson, 2012, 2012). In the current study, intervention students reported the greatest increases in stopping or limiting drinking PBS, rather than strategies more closely related to reductions in alcohol risk.…”

Clarifying observed relationships between protective behavioral strategies and alcohol outcomes: The importance of response options.

“…This can lead to counterintuitive associations with alcohol use and problems (e.g., positive, curvilinear, or nonsignificant relationships). The inconsistent relationship between PBS and alcohol use has been observed repeatedly with the SQ (Kite et al, 2013; Pearson et al, 2012; Sugarman & Carey, 2007, 2009) as well as other scales (Kite et al, 2013; Werch, 1990). …”