Validation and multilevel structure of a day-level failed control over Alcohol Use Scale

Failed control over alcohol use is a hallmark symptom of alcohol use disorder, one that has been extensively (and precisely) measured across individuals. Yet our ability to measure failed control at the day level, when drinking naturally occurs, is hampered by a lack of consistent, ecologically validated measurement tools. The present study filled this void in the literature. College students who binge drink (N = 272) completed a baseline assessment and 14 days of daily diaries. During daily diaries, participants reported their drinking behavior, alcohol consequences, and intentions while also responding to 10 items adapted from the Impaired Control Scale assessing failed control and one item assessing attempted control. Nine of the 10 items assessing failed control loaded well onto a multilevel latent factor-one item assessing unplanned drinking did not and was removed. The nine-item failed control scale showed convergent validity, being positively correlated with exceeding intoxication intentions at the day level and with baseline failed control at the person level. The nine-item failed control scale also showed discriminant validity, being negatively correlated with day-level attempted control. In terms of concurrent/incremental validity, the nine-item failed control scale predicted heavier drinking and more negative consequences at the day level and person level, and such relations remained even when accounting for day-level exceeding intoxication intentions and attempted control, as well as baseline failed/attempted control across people. Failed control can be effectively measured in daily life within and across drinking episodes via the nine items tested herein, and investigators could include such items in future day-level research protocols. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).