OBJECTIVE: Heavy college-student alcohol use and its resulting negative consequences represent a public-health problem on American college campuses. The Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI) is a commonly used measure of alcohol problems among college students, but the psychometric properties of this measure never have been comprehensively assessed with the college-student population. The purpose of this research was to conduct reliability and validity analyses, particularly exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, on a dichotomously scored version of the measure. METHOD: Data were collected on 4,686 undergraduate students at a large, public university in the Northwest region of the United States and 438 students at a large, public university in the Northeast. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis suggested that a three-factor model provided the best fit to the data. This finding was replicated via confirmatory factor analyses in two separate samples. The three factors were labeled Abuse/Dependence Symptoms, Personal Consequences, and Social Consequences. Each individual factor demonstrated adequate internal consistency and convergent validity. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that a dichotomously scored RAPI consists of three subfactors that are reliable and valid in identifying alcohol-related problems among college students.
OBJECTIVE: Heavy college-student alcohol use and its resulting negative consequences represent a public-health problem on American college campuses. The Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI) is a commonly used measure of alcohol problems among college students, but the psychometric properties of this measure never have been comprehensively assessed with the college-student population. The purpose of this research was to conduct reliability and validity analyses, particularly exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, on a dichotomously scored version of the measure. METHOD: Data were collected on 4,686 undergraduate students at a large, public university in the Northwest region of the United States and 438 students at a large, public university in the Northeast. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis suggested that a three-factor model provided the best fit to the data. This finding was replicated via confirmatory factor analyses in two separate samples. The three factors were labeled Abuse/Dependence Symptoms, Personal Consequences, and Social Consequences. Each individual factor demonstrated adequate internal consistency and convergent validity. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that a dichotomously scored RAPI consists of three subfactors that are reliable and valid in identifying alcohol-related problems among college students.
Authors: Matthew P Martens; Jessica L Martin; E Suzanne Hatchett; Roneferiti M Fowler; Kristie M Fleming; Michael A Karakashian; M Dolores Cimini Journal: J Couns Psychol Date: 2008-10
Authors: M Dolores Cimini; Matthew P Martens; Mary E Larimer; Jason R Kilmer; Clayton Neighbors; Joseph M Monserrat Journal: J Stud Alcohol Drugs Suppl Date: 2009-07
Authors: Alan K Davis; Brooke J Arterberry; Erin E Bonar; Stephen T Chermack; Frederic C Blow; Rebecca M Cunningham; Maureen A Walton Journal: Drug Alcohol Depend Date: 2018-05-05 Impact factor: 4.492
Authors: Rob Turrisi; Mary E Larimer; Kimberly A Mallett; Jason R Kilmer; Anne E Ray; Nadine R Mastroleo; Irene Markman Geisner; Joel Grossbard; Sean Tollison; Ty W Lostutter; Heidi Montoya Journal: J Stud Alcohol Drugs Date: 2009-07 Impact factor: 2.582