Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 27, 2026
08:05
A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers
Published on: January 5, 2018
The Student Alcohol Questionnaire: an updated reliability of the drinking patterns, problems, knowledge, and attitude
1Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405.
Psychological Reports
|February 1, 1994
Summary
This study assessed the reliability of the Student Alcohol Questionnaire subscales. Most subscales demonstrated good to excellent reliability, except for the Attitudes Toward Drinking subscale, which requires further investigation.
Area of Science:
- Psychometrics
- Substance Abuse Research
Background:
- The Student Alcohol Questionnaire (SAQ) is used to assess alcohol-related behaviors and attitudes in students.
- Reliability is crucial for ensuring the accuracy and consistency of measurement tools in psychological research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of four key subscales within the Student Alcohol Questionnaire.
- To determine the psychometric properties of the Quantity/Frequency Patterns, Problems Resulting from Drinking, Knowledge of Alcohol, and Attitudes Toward Drinking subscales.
Main Methods:
- Spearman-Brown reliability coefficients were calculated for each subscale.
- Cronbach's alpha was computed to assess internal consistency for the subscales.
- The Student Alcohol Questionnaire subscales were analyzed using established psychometric methods.
Main Results:
- Spearman-Brown reliability coefficients were: Quantity/Frequency Patterns (.84), Problems Resulting from Drinking (.89), Knowledge of Alcohol (.85), and Attitudes Toward Drinking (.27).
- Cronbach's alpha values were: Quantity/Frequency Patterns (.86), Problems Resulting from Drinking (.92), Knowledge of Alcohol (.86), and Attitudes Toward Drinking (.55).
- The Quantity/Frequency Patterns, Problems Resulting from Drinking, and Knowledge of Alcohol subscales exhibited strong reliability.
Conclusions:
- The Quantity/Frequency Patterns, Problems Resulting from Drinking, and Knowledge of Alcohol subscales of the SAQ demonstrate good to excellent reliability.
- The Attitudes Toward Drinking subscale shows questionable reliability, indicating a need for revision or further validation.
- These findings are important for researchers and clinicians using the SAQ to accurately assess student alcohol consumption patterns and related issues.
Related Concept Videos
02:16Surveys
Often, psychologists develop surveys as a means of gathering data. Surveys are lists of questions to be answered by research participants, and can be delivered as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally. Generally, the survey itself can be completed in a short time, and the ease of administering a survey makes it easy to collect data from a large number of people.
01:29Reliability and Validity
Reliability and validity are two important considerations that must be made with any type of data collection. Reliability refers to the ability to consistently produce a given result. In the context of psychological research, this would mean that any instruments or tools used to collect data do so in consistent, reproducible ways.
02:05Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
People can go to great lengths to protect their self-image and present themselves in ways that they want others to see them. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy, Goffman believed that we use “impression management” to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present (Goffman, 1959). Think about the way you...
01:38Cognitive Dissonance
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
01:16Hypothesis Test for Test of Independence
The test of independence is a chi-square-based test used to determine whether two variables or factors are independent or dependent. This hypothesis test is used to examine the independence of the variables. One can construct two qualitative survey questions or experiments based on the variables in a contingency table. The goal is to see if the two variables are unrelated (independent) or related (dependent). The null and alternative hypotheses for this test are:
H0: The two variables (factors)...
H0: The two variables (factors)...
01:22Self-Report Tests of Personality
Self-report inventories are objective personality assessments that use multiple-choice items or numbered scales, typically ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). They are often called Likert scales after Rensis Likert. These inventories are widely used due to their ease of administration and cost-effectiveness. One of the most prominent examples is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), initially developed in the 1940s to assess abnormal personality traits.