Validation of an Online Version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) for Alcohol Screening in Spanish University Students

Laura Ballester, Itxaso Alayo, Gemma Vilagut, José Almenara, Ana Isabel Cebrià, Enrique Echeburúa, Andrea Gabilondo, Margalida Gili, Carolina Lagares, José A. Piqueras, Miquel Roca, Victoria Soto-Sanz, Maria Jesús Blasco, Pere Castellví, Carlos G. Forero, Philippe Mortier, Jordi Alonso and on behalf of the UNIVERSAL Study Group
Additional contact information
Laura Ballester: Health Services Research Group, IMIM (Institut Hospital del Mar d’Investigacions Mèdiques), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Itxaso Alayo: Health Services Research Group, IMIM (Institut Hospital del Mar d’Investigacions Mèdiques), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Gemma Vilagut: Health Services Research Group, IMIM (Institut Hospital del Mar d’Investigacions Mèdiques), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
José Almenara: Department of Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Public Health, Faculty of Nursing and Physiotherapy, University of Cádiz (UCA), 11009 Cádiz, Spain
Ana Isabel Cebrià: Department of Mental Health, Corporació Sanitaria Parc Taulí, 08208 Sabadell, Spain
Enrique Echeburúa: Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU), 20018 San Sebastián, Spain
Andrea Gabilondo: BioDonostia Health Research Institute, Osakidetza, 20014 San Sebastián, Spain
Margalida Gili: Institut Universitari d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut (IUNICS-IDISBA), University of Balearic Islands (UIB), 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Carolina Lagares: Department of Statistic and Operational Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cádiz (UCA), 11009 Cádiz, Spain
José A. Piqueras: Department of Health Psychology, Center for Applied Psychology, Faculty of Social and Health Sciences, Campus of Elche, Miguel Hernandez University of Elche (UMH), 03202 Elche, Spain
Miquel Roca: Institut Universitari d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut (IUNICS-IDISBA), University of Balearic Islands (UIB), 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Victoria Soto-Sanz: Department of Health Psychology, Center for Applied Psychology, Faculty of Social and Health Sciences, Campus of Elche, Miguel Hernandez University of Elche (UMH), 03202 Elche, Spain
Maria Jesús Blasco: Health Services Research Group, IMIM (Institut Hospital del Mar d’Investigacions Mèdiques), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Pere Castellví: School of Medicine, International University of Catalonia (UIC), 08195 Sant Cugat del Vallès, Spain
Carlos G. Forero: School of Medicine, International University of Catalonia (UIC), 08195 Sant Cugat del Vallès, Spain
Philippe Mortier: Health Services Research Group, IMIM (Institut Hospital del Mar d’Investigacions Mèdiques), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Jordi Alonso: Health Services Research Group, IMIM (Institut Hospital del Mar d’Investigacions Mèdiques), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
on behalf of the UNIVERSAL Study Group: Membership of the UNIVERSAL Study Group is provided in the Acknowledgments.

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: Online alcohol screening may be helpful in preventing alcohol use disorders. We assessed psychometric properties of an online version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) among Spanish university students. We used a longitudinal online survey (the UNIVERSAL project) of first-year students (18–24 years old) in five universities, including the AUDIT, as part of the WHO World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative. A reappraisal interview was carried out with the Timeline Followback (TLFB) for alcohol consumption categories and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) for alcohol use disorder. Reliability, construct validity and diagnostic accuracy were assessed. Results: 287 students (75% women) completed the MINI, of whom 242 also completed the TLFB. AUDIT’s Cronbach’s alpha was 0.82. The confirmatory factor analysis for the one-factor solution of the AUDIT showed a good fit to the data. Significant AUDIT score differences were observed by TLFB categories and by MINI disorders. Areas under the curve (AUC) were very large for dependence (AUC = 0.96) and adequate for consumption categories (AUC > 0.7). AUDIT cut-off points of 6/8 (women/men) for moderate-risk drinking and 13 for alcohol dependence showed sensitivity/specificity of 76.2%/78.9% and 56%/97.5%, respectively. The online version of the AUDIT is useful for detecting alcohol consumption categories and alcohol dependence in Spanish university students.

Keywords: Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT); university students; online survey; validity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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