Comprehensive effects of alcohol: Development and psychometric assessment of a new expectancy questionnaire.

Abstract

A comprehensive measure of alcohol outcome expectancies was developed through the use of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The questionnaire assesses both positive and negative expected effects of alcohol as well as the subjective evaluation of those effects. The measure was found to demonstrate adequate internal consistency, temporal stability, and construct validity. Criterion validity was demonstrated through structural regression analyses of the independent and combined influences of outcome expectancies and subjective evaluation on three measures of alcohol use. Information on subjects' dose-related expectancies provided further validation of the expectancy construct and yielded information about the effects people associate with drinking different amounts of alcohol