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Preliminary Evaluation of the NIAAA/AAP Brief Alcohol Use Screener
Alan Meca1, Jonathan G Tubman2, Timothy Regan2
1University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14th Street, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
Aims:
To assess the concurrent validity of the two-item NIAAA/American Academy of Pediatrics Brief Alcohol Use Screener, a developmentally sensitive assessment instrument, in a school-based sample of adolescents.
Method:
The sample consisted of 756 adolescents (53% girls; Mage = 13.7 years; SD = 1.6 years) in the 6th (n = 192), 8th (n = 283), and the 10th (n = 281) grades from Miami-Dade County, FL and Prince George's County, MD. Adolescents completed the NIAAA/AAP Brief Alcohol Use Screener, which consists of two items asking about adolescents' alcohol use and about peers' alcohol use during the last year. Peer-Risk is categorized into 'No Peer-Risk' versus 'Heightened Concern'; Self-Risk is categorized into 'No-Risk,' 'Low-Risk,' 'Moderate-Risk' or 'High-Risk,' based on alcohol use patterns and age. Adolescents also completed measures of recent alcohol use and four previously validated screener instruments.
Results:
Relative to the self-use 'No-Risk' category, adolescents classified into the 'Low-,' 'Moderate-' and 'High-Risk' categories reported progressively greater alcohol use and misuse during the last 90 days. Similar patterns were observed between the Peer-Risk categories. Combined, the two NIAAA/AAP screener items were positively related to recent alcohol use and outperformed the other screeners examined.
Conclusions:
Results from the present study support the concurrent validity of the single and combined items of the NIAAA/AAP Brief Alcohol Use Screener, as well as the measure's favorable concurrent validity compared to four previously validated screener instruments.
Short Summary:
The current results support the concurrent validity of the single and combined items of the NIAAA/AAP Brief Alcohol Use Screener, as well as the measure's favorable concurrent validity compared to four previously validated screener instruments, in a school-based sample of adolescents.
