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. 2015 Mar-Apr;50(2):89-94.
doi: 10.1708/1872.20456.

Reliability of a self-report Italian version of the AUDIT-C questionnaire, used to estimate alcohol consumption by pregnant women in an obstetric setting

Stefania Bazzo, Giuseppe Battistella, Patrizia Riscica, Giuliana Moino, Giuseppe Dal Pozzo, Mery Bottarel, Mariasole Geromel, Loredana Czerwinsky

Reliability of a self-report Italian version of the AUDIT-C questionnaire, used to estimate alcohol consumption by pregnant women in an obstetric setting

Stefania Bazzo et al. Riv Psichiatr. 2015 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

Aim: Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can result in a range of harmful effects on the developing foetus and newborn, called Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). The identification of pregnant women who use alcohol enables to provide information, support and treatment for women and the surveillance of their children. The AUDIT-C (the shortened consumption version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) is used for investigating risky drinking with different populations, and has been applied to estimate alcohol use and risky drinking also in antenatal clinics. The aim of the study was to investigate the reliability of a self-report Italian version of the AUDIT-C questionnaire to detect alcohol consumption during pregnancy, regardless of its use as a screening tool.

Methods: The questionnaire was filled in by two independent consecutive series of pregnant women at the 38th gestation week visit in the two birth locations of the Local Health Authority of Treviso (Italy), during the years 2010 and 2011 (n=220 and n=239). Reliability analysis was performed using internal consistency, item-total score correlations, and inter-item correlations. The "discriminatory power" of the test was also evaluated. Results. Overall, about one third of women recalled alcohol consumption at least once during the current pregnancy. The questionnaire had an internal consistency of 0.565 for the group of the year 2010, of 0.516 for the year 2011, and of 0.542 for the overall group. The highest item total correlations' coefficient was 0.687 and the highest inter-item correlations' coefficient was 0.675. As for the discriminatory power of the questionnaire, the highest Ferguson's delta coefficient was 0.623.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that the Italian self-report version of the AUDIT-C possesses unsatisfactory reliability to estimate alcohol consumption during pregnancy when used as self-report questionnaire in an obstetric setting.

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