How does the Brief CEOA match with self-generated expectancies in mandated students?

Validation of the Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol Questionnaire in Older Adults

Background: Alcohol expectancies have been established as an important construct in the prediction of alcohol use among younger adults, but there is little understanding about the perceived expected effects of consuming alcohol in older adults. Beliefs about the expected effects of alcohol may be quite different in older adults compared to young adults, which may also play a different role in their drinking behavior. In older cohorts there may be stigma may be associated with drinking and the nature of drinking experiences may differ to those of younger adults. Existing measures of expectancies are based on the perspectives of younger adults and therefore warrant validation in an older sample. Objectives: The aim of this study is to validate the comprehensive effects of alcohol questionnaire (CEOA) in a sample of older adults, and to investigate the relationships between alcohol expectancies, their evaluations and alcohol use. Methods: A sample of community dwelling older adults (N = 473) completed self-report measures assessing drinking behavior and alcohol expectancies. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted. Results: The final model of the CEOA supported two global dimensions of positive and negative expectancies, and showed excellent goodness-of-fit and internal consistency. Male drinkers were more likely to endorse positive expectancies and favorable evaluations of positive and negative expectancies. Favorable evaluations of positive expectancies were the strongest predictors of drinking frequency and quantity. Conclusions/Importance: The results support for the empirical validity of a two-factor expectancy model consisting of a 10-item negative expectancy factor and a 10-item positive expectancy factor. This more concise version could offer a more acceptable and time efficient measure of expectancies and valuations for older adults. Furthermore, the study provides important findings for the role of evaluations in their prediction of alcohol use.

A qualitative examination of contextual influences on negative alcohol consequence evaluations among young adult drinkers

Alcohol misuse and associated negative consequences experienced by college students persists as a public health concern. Quantitative studies demonstrate variability in subjective evaluations of consequences, and how positively or negatively consequences are evaluated is associated with drinking behavior. Lacking is a qualitative exploration of how drinkers evaluate consequences and what influences those evaluations. We conducted a series of single-gender focus groups (13 groups; 3-7 per group; n = 62, 48% female) with college student drinkers. Questions focused on: (a) types of negative and positive consequences experienced (b) personal perceptions of negative consequences and (c) factors influencing those perceptions. Verbatim transcripts were content analyzed using applied thematic analysis with NVivo software. Several negative consequences not included in current assessment tools emerged. Reactions to these "negative" consequences of alcohol misuse were not labeled as uniformly negative by participants. Contextual influences on reactions to consequences included: social factors (e.g., normative perceptions, social context, discussions with friends), level of intoxication, concurrent positive consequences, time, and alcohol as an excuse. Future research should focus on consequence measure development and examine interactions between contextual and individual influences on subjective consequence evaluations. (PsycINFO Database Record

Factor Structure of the Brief Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol Scale in Adolescents

Alcohol use among adolescents is a public health concern; therefore, it is important that studies that examine factors associated with adolescent drinking behaviors utilize measures that are well-validated for use with this population. The current study examined the factor structure and convergent validity of the Brief Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol scale, a measure of alcohol outcome expectancies and evaluations of expected outcomes, among adolescents ( N = 1,074; 50% girls; M_age = 15.96 years, SD = 1.13, range = 13-18; 74% White) drawn from three independent studies ( n_{site 1} = 594; n_{site 2} = 97; and n_{site 3} = 383). Results yielded support for a four-factor structure for alcohol expectancies and two-factor structure for valuations. Moreover, the factor structure was partially or fully invariant across gender, age, and site. Thus, findings are similar, yet unique, to those identified in college samples. The convergent validity of the modified measure was supported, suggesting that the Brief Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol scale may be useful for assessing adolescents' beliefs about alcohol.