Evaluating the accuracy of alcohol expectancies relative to subjective response to alcohol (original) (raw)
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Psychological Assessment, 2012
Alcohol expectancy (AEs) research has enhanced our understanding of how anticipated alcohol effects confer risk for heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems. However, extant AE measures have limitations within 1 or more of the following areas: assessing a comprehensive range of effects, specifying the hypothetical number of drinks consumed, assessing AEs by limb of the blood alcohol curve (BAC), and/or not having undergone psychometric evaluation. Building upon the strengths of existing measures, we employed conceptual and statistical advances in measurement development to create the novel, psychometrically sound Anticipated Effects of Alcohol Scale (AEAS). Unique to this study, pilot data ensured that the AEAS comprised a comprehensive sampling of effects that varied in valence (positive/negative) and arousal (low/high) and were identified as plausible outcomes of drinking. The AEAS specified the number of drinks individuals imagined consuming (adjusted for sex) and the hypothetical drinking episode length (2 hr). AEs were also assessed separately by BAC limb. For validation purposes, the AEAS was included in several survey studies of young adults (ages 18-30). The validity argument for the proposed interpretation of AEAS test scores was based upon the following: (a) exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (N ϭ 546) identified a 22-item, 4-factor internal structure, categorizing alcohol effects into quadrants (high/low arousal crossed with positive/negative valence); (b) scalar measurement invariance was established for BAC limb, sex, and binge drinking status; (c) convergence/divergence was observed with alternative AEs measures and mood; and (d) test-criterion relationships were observed with several alcohol-related outcomes. The reliability argument was based on test-retest and internal consistency coefficients.
The alcohol expectancy construct: Overview and clinical applications
Cognitive Therapy and Research, 1988
Recently there has been much research on cognitive factors in decisions to drink and responses to alcohol. Most of this research has concerned expectancies regarding alcohol effects, but much less attention has been paid to applying these data to clinical practice. In this paper, the potential clinical applications of current knowledge regarding expectancies, with emphases on assessment and intervention, are discussed. Problems of assessment are determining the nature and strength of alcohol expectancies, including their domains, situation specificity, and dose-related influences. Along these lines, representative scales are described. Three aspects of intervention, each pertaining to a phase of drinking behavior, are presented. The first area is initiation of drinking, when drinking decisions are presumed to be motivated by alcohol expectancies. Strategies for (a) attempting to change expectancies and (b) engaging in alternative behaviors to achieve desired, or expected, outcomes are described. The second area concerns the assessment and labeling of drinking effects, with a focus on tracking the relationship between alcohol use and expectancies over the course of a drinking event. The third area deals with subsequent drinking and clinically revolves around the application of altered expectancies to subsequent drinking in that episode
Psychological Assessment, 2013
Three decades of research demonstrate that individual differences in subjective response (SR) to acute alcohol effects predict heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems. However, the SR patterns conferring the greatest risk remain under debate. Morean and Corbin (2010) highlighted that extant SR measures commonly have limitations within the following areas: assessment of a comprehensive range of effects, assessment of effects over the complete course of a drinking episode, and/or psychometric validation. Furthermore, the consistent pairing of certain SR measures and theoretical models has made integration of findings difficult. To address these issues, we developed the Subjective Effects of Alcohol Scale (SEAS), a novel, psychometrically sound SR measure for use in alcohol administration studies. Pilot data ensured that the SEAS comprised a comprehensive range of effects that varied in terms of valence and arousal and were perceived as plausible effects of drinking. For validation purposes, the SEAS was included in a 2-site, placebo-controlled, alcohol administration study (N ϭ 215). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified a 14-item, 4-factor model categorizing effects into affective quadrants (high/low arousal positive; high/low arousal negative). SEAS scores evidenced the following: (a) scalar measurement invariance by limb of the blood alcohol curve (BAC) and beverage condition; (b) good internal consistency; (c) convergence/divergence with extant SR measures, alcohol expectancies, and alcohol use; and (d) concurrent/incremental utility in accounting for alcohol-related outcomes, highlighting the novel high arousal negative and low arousal positive subscales.
Journal of studies on alcohol, 1995
The alcohol expectancy construct has become prominent in contemporary psychosocial approaches to understanding alcohol use and abuse. In 1980 Brown and colleagues developed the 90-item Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ) to assess experiences. Rohsenow modified this instrument to create the 40-item Alcohol Effects Questionnaire (AEQ-2). In the present study, we replaced the dichotomous response format of the AEQ-2 with a six-point scale to create the AEQ-3. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the AEQ-3 for factor structure confirmation and invariance across gender and race subgroups. We administered the AEQ-3 to a large general population sample (N = 1,260). The instrument was self-administered during a structured interview. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test a correlated eight-factor model consisting of six positive expectancies and two negative expectancies. Fit indices revealed that the eight-factor model fit the data moderately well. Furthermore, the fit...
Addictive Behaviors, 2016
The Anticipated Effects of Alcohol Scale (AEAS), the Subjective Effects of Alcohol Scale, and the Positive Drinking Consequences Questionnaire (PDCQ) are psychometrically sound measures of alcohol expectancies (expectancies), subjective response to alcohol, and positive drinking consequences, respectively, for use with adults. Prior research using these measures suggests that expectancies, subjective response, and positive drinking consequences are related yet distinct determinants of drinking. The current study presents psychometric evaluations of these measures for use with adolescents including confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) of the previously identified latent structures, internal consistency, and test-criterion relationships. Legally, alcohol cannot be administered to adolescents, so we assessed retrospective subjective response (during the first drinking episode ever [SEAS First] and the most recent drinking episode [SEAS Recent]). The sample comprised 248 Connecticut high school students (53.6% male; mean age 16.50 [1.19] years; 71.4% White) who completed an anonymous survey. CFA confirmed the latent factor structures for each measure. The AEAS, SEAS First, SEAS Recent and the PDCQ were internally consistent (mean α AEAS = .83; SEAS First = .88; SEAS Recent = .89, PDCQ = .87). AEAS subscales evidenced moderate overlap with corresponding SEAS First subscales (mean = .36) and SEAS Recent subscales (mean = .46) and modest overlap with the PDCQ (mean = .17). Expectancies, subjective response, and positive drinking consequences also accounted for significant variance in monthly drinking, lifetime maximum number of drinks consumed, and alcohol-related problems. In sum, the AEAS, the retrospective SEAS, and the PDCQ are psychometrically sound measures for use with adolescents.
Projected alcohol dose influences on the activation of alcohol expectancies in college drinkers
2009
Background-Alcohol expectancies have been linked to drinking behavior in college students, and vary according to a number of factors, including projected dose of alcohol. Research using Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) suggests that drinking may be influenced by activation of differing expectancy dimensions in memory, yet studies have not examined expectancy activation according to projected alcohol doses.
Addictive Behaviors, 2013
► Momentary alcohol cue reactivity and cognitive expectancies motivate alcohol use. ► We used heart rate variability (HRV) reactivity to examine their conjoint operation. ► Young adults with and without alcohol use disorders (AUD) were tested. ► AUD status moderated the relationship of HRV reactivity to negative expectancy. ► Clinical implications of these divergent relations are considered. a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: Alcohol outcome expectancies Heart rate variability Cue reactivity Alcohol use disorders Alcohol cue reactivity, operationalized as a classically conditioned response to an alcohol related stimulus, can be assessed by changes in physiological functions such as heart rate variability (HRV), which reflect real time regulation of emotional and cognitive processes. Although ample evidence links drinking histories to cue reactivity, it is unclear whether in-the-moment cue reactivity becomes coupled to a set of consolidated beliefs about the effects of alcohol (i.e., expectancies) and whether treatment helps dissociate the relation of positive versus negative expectancies to cue reactivity. This study examined the relationship between reactivity to alcohol picture cues and alcohol expectancies in two groups of emerging adults: an inpatient sample with alcohol use disorders (n = 28) and a college student sample who previously were mandated to a brief intervention for violating university policies about alcohol use in residence halls (n = 43). Sequential regression analysis was conducted using several HRV indices and self-report arousal ratings as cue reactivity measures. Results indicated that the relationship between cue reactivity and negative alcohol outcome expectancies differed for the two groups. Greater cue reactivity, assessed using HRV indices, was associated with more negative expectancies in the inpatient sample but with less negative expectancies in the mandated student sample, while an opposite trend was found for subjective arousal. The present findings highlight the importance of characterizing cue reactivity through multi-dimensional assessment modalities that include physiological markers such as HRV.
Development and initial validation of the Worry-Reduction Alcohol Expectancy Scale
Addictive Behaviors, 2007
Recent research on the relation between generalized anxiety and heavy drinking highlighted a need for a measure of worry-reduction alcohol expectancies. The current study aimed to develop and to assess the psychometric properties of the Worry-Reduction Alcohol Expectancy Scale. The development and initial validation of the WRAES occurred across two phases with two separate non-clinical undergraduate samples. Phase I was focused on scale construction and item selection, while Phase II included an assessment of the WRAES' reliability, validity and cross-validation of factor structure. Results from both study phases support a two-factor model. Cronbach's alpha for the total scale was .96 and Pearson r test-retest reliability was .75. Additionally, the mean correlation between the WRAES and convergent measures was significantly higher than the mean correlation between the WRAES and discriminant measures. Overall, the results provide initial support for the WRAES as a measure of worry-reduction alcohol expectancies.
Using the Drinking Expectancy Questionnaire (revised scoring method) in clinical practice
The Drinking Expectancy Questionnaire has been widely used in clinical and research settings over the past 20 years. A revised scoring method with a five-factor structure has been proposed but no norms for this method are available . The aim of this study is to establish sample means for the five expectancy subscales (Social Confidence; Sexual Interest; Cognitive Enhancement; Tension Reduction; and Negative Consequences) in a sample of adults entering hospital treatment for alcohol dependence (N = 163) and a sample of university undergraduate students (N = 110). Clinical sample means on the expectancy subscales tended to be substantially higher than the means for the student sample, with the exception of Sexual Interest (which was higher in the students). Interestingly, the Negative Consequences subscale mean was more than two standard deviations higher in the clinical sample, and was strongly correlated with measures of depression, anxiety and stress. The Negative Consequences scores were strongly associated with drinking risk in the student sample but were not related to drinking measures in the clinical sample. A ROC analysis established a cut-off on the DEQ total of 107 that distinguished dependent drinkers from student drinkers with high sensitivity and specificity. The clinical utility of the DEQ in general will be discussed.
Contextual influences on alcohol expectancy processes
Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 2007
Objective: Context may differentially influence expectancy dimensions, in turn affecting drinking behavior. The present study examined alcohol cue and mood contextual influences on expectancy activation, controlling for more stable self-reported expectancy endorsement. We were particularly interested in the specific effects of negative mood on affect-relevant (tension reduction) expectancies. Method: Regularly drinking undergraduates (N = 140; 64 female) underwent a mood (stress or neutral) induction procedure and then were presented with alcohol or nonalcohol beverage cues. Participants next completed a computerized expectancy response time task (ETASK), and self-report measures of drinking variables. Results: Individual difference analyses generally replicated previous reports on the inverse relationship between alcohol involvement and ETASK response time. However, examination of contextual effects revealed a different pattern of ETASK