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How Should Alcohol Problems Be Conceptualized? Causal Indicators Within the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index
Brooke J Arterberry1, Ting-Huei Chen2, Alvaro Vergés3
1Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA bjaww8@mail.missouri.edu.
This study suggests that alcohol problems may be better understood using a hybrid model, where some indicators influence the underlying concept, not just reflect it. This impacts how we measure alcohol consequences.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Addiction Research
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Alcohol-related problems are often measured using an effect indicator model, assuming indicators are caused by a latent variable.
- Emerging theories propose that some indicators may causally influence the latent variable (causal indicators).
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the measurement model of the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI).
- To compare a hybrid model (effect and causal indicators) against a pure effect indicator model for alcohol consequences.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a zero tetrad test to analyze data from 703 university students mandated to alcohol intervention.
- Assessed the fit of two competing measurement models: one with only effect indicators and one with both effect and causal indicators.
Main Results:
- The hybrid model, incorporating both causal and effect indicators, demonstrated a superior fit to the data compared to the model with only effect indicators.
- Findings suggest that the conceptualization of alcohol consequences may require a more nuanced measurement approach.
Conclusions:
- The Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index measurement may be more accurately represented by a hybrid model.
- This research has implications for the theoretical understanding and measurement of alcohol-related problems.
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