Validation of the 30-Day Version of the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire for Use in Longitudinal Studies

TLDR

The study aims to evaluate the 30‑day Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire’s psychometric properties among college students cited for alcohol violations. A total of 291 cited students completed the B‑YAACQ at baseline and a 6‑week follow‑up, and the data were analyzed for reliability, validity, and Rasch model fit. The 30‑day B‑YAACQ proved internally consistent, unidimensional, reliable over 6 weeks, sensitive to intervention‑induced change, and valid for assessing alcohol‑related consequences in this population. Published in J.

Abstract

Objective: The Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (B-YAACQ) was developed using item response modeling to provide a brief and readily interpretable measure of negative alcohol consequences over the past year among college students. The purpose of the present study was to extend evaluation of the B-YAACQ by examining its psychometric properties when administered to college students cited for a university alcohol violation using a past 30-day time frame of assessment. Method: The B-YAACQ was administered at baseline and at a 6-week follow-up to 291 students cited for a university alcohol violation. Reliability and validity analyses, in addition to Rasch model analyses, were conducted using these data. Results: Results demonstrated that the B-YAACQ was internally consistent, showed strong unidimensionality and additive properties, displayed minimal item redundancy and minimal floor or ceiling effects, was reliable over a 6-week period, and was sensitive to change in drinking following an alcohol intervention. In addition, the relative severity of items was preserved over time and generally consistent with results from an earlier study. Conclusions: The 30-day B-YAACQ seems valid for use with college students who have received an alcohol violation and for use in evaluating changes in alcohol consequences. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs 69: 611-615,2008)