Laura Acion1,2,3, John Kramer1, Xiangtao Liu1, Grace Chan4, Douglas Langbehn1, Kathleen Bucholz5, Vivia McCutcheon5, Victor Hesselbrock4, Marc Schuckit6, Danielle Dick7, Michie Hesselbrock4, Samuel Kuperman1. 1. a Department of Psychiatry , University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine , Iowa City , IA, USA. 2. b Iowa Consortium for Substance Abuse Research and Evaluation , Iowa City , IA, USA. 3. c Fundación Sadosky , Buenos Aires , Argentina. 4. d Department of Psychiatry , University of Connecticut Health Center , Farmington , CT, USA. 5. e Department of Psychiatry , Washington University School of Medicine , St. Louis , MO, USA. 6. f Department of Psychiatry , University of California, San Diego School of Medicine , La Jolla , CA, USA. 7. g Department of Psychology , Virginia Commonwealth University , Richmond , VA, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA) is an interview that assesses psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses, including substance use disorders and anxiety and mood (i.e., internalizing) disorders. Although the SSAGA is widely used, there exists no overall internalizing characteristics scale based on items drawn from SSAGA's mood and anxiety disorder sections. OBJECTIVES: To design and assess a SSAGA-based measurement instrument capturing the overall internalizing dimension that underlies more specific internalizing conditions. METHODS: We developed, assessed, and characterized a new scale for measuring internalizing problematic characteristics derived from the SSAGA interview. All samples were drawn from the Collaborative Studies on the Genetics of Alcoholism, a prospective multi-site genetic study of families at high risk for alcohol use disorders. All participants taking part in the study between September 2005 and September 2017 were eligible (n = 904, 52.2% female). RESULTS: The scale had adequate internal consistency (ordinal α = 0.85, 95% CI = [0.81, 0.89]). Construct validity was supported by its association with other measures of internalizing characteristics (Internalizing Scale from Achenbach Self Reports; Neuroticism Scale from the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Five-Factor Personality Inventory). Several indices of alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine misuse were also positively associated with Internalizing Scale scores. CONCLUSIONS: The Internalizing Scale has very good psychometric properties and can be used in studies that incorporate the SSAGA interview to study the association between internalizing characteristics and problematic alcohol and other substance use. These associations can potentially be utilized to identify individuals at risk for substance problems and to design treatments targeting such individuals.
BACKGROUND: The Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA) is an interview that assesses psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses, including substance use disorders and anxiety and mood (i.e., internalizing) disorders. Although the SSAGA is widely used, there exists no overall internalizing characteristics scale based on items drawn from SSAGA's mood and anxiety disorder sections. OBJECTIVES: To design and assess a SSAGA-based measurement instrument capturing the overall internalizing dimension that underlies more specific internalizing conditions. METHODS: We developed, assessed, and characterized a new scale for measuring internalizing problematic characteristics derived from the SSAGA interview. All samples were drawn from the Collaborative Studies on the Genetics of Alcoholism, a prospective multi-site genetic study of families at high risk for alcohol use disorders. All participants taking part in the study between September 2005 and September 2017 were eligible (n = 904, 52.2% female). RESULTS: The scale had adequate internal consistency (ordinal α = 0.85, 95% CI = [0.81, 0.89]). Construct validity was supported by its association with other measures of internalizing characteristics (Internalizing Scale from Achenbach Self Reports; Neuroticism Scale from the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Five-Factor Personality Inventory). Several indices of alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine misuse were also positively associated with Internalizing Scale scores. CONCLUSIONS: The Internalizing Scale has very good psychometric properties and can be used in studies that incorporate the SSAGA interview to study the association between internalizing characteristics and problematic alcohol and other substance use. These associations can potentially be utilized to identify individuals at risk for substance problems and to design treatments targeting such individuals.
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Authors: John R Kramer; Grace Chan; Victor M Hesselbrock; Samuel Kuperman; Kathleen K Bucholz; Howard J Edenberg; Marc A Schuckit; John I Nurnberger; Tatiana Foroud; Danielle M Dick; Laura J Bierut; Bernice Porjesz Journal: J Stud Alcohol Drugs Date: 2010-01 Impact factor: 2.582
Authors: Emma C Johnson; Fazil Aliev; Jacquelyn L Meyers; Jessica E Salvatore; Rebecca Tillman; Yoonhoo Chang; Anna R Docherty; Ryan Bogdan; Laura Acion; Grace Chan; David B Chorlian; Chella Kamarajan; Samuel Kuperman; Ashwini Pandey; Martin H Plawecki; Marc Schuckit; Jay Tischfield; Howard J Edenberg; Kathleen K Bucholz; John I Nurnberger; Bernice Porjesz; Victor Hesselbrock; Danielle M Dick; John R Kramer; Arpana Agrawal Journal: Complex Psychiatry Date: 2021-05-18
Authors: John I Nurnberger; Ziyi Yang; Yong Zang; Laura Acion; Laura Bierut; Kathleen Bucholz; Grace Chan; Danielle M Dick; Howard J Edenberg; John Kramer; Samuel Kuperman; John P Rice; Marc Schuckit Journal: J Psychiatr Brain Sci Date: 2019-10-25