Utility of the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire to Identify College Students At-Risk for Alcohol Related Problems: Relative Operating Characteristics across Seven Countries

Abstract

Background: It is important to identify students who would benefit from early interventions to reduce harmful drinking patterns and associated consequences. the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (B-YAACQ) could be particularly useful as a screening tool in university settings. Objectives. The present study examined the utility of the B-YAACQ to distinguish among students at-risk for problematic alcohol use as measured by the AUDIT. Objectives: The present study examined the utility of the B-YAACQ to distinguish among students at-risk for problematic alcohol use as measured by the AUDIT. Methods: A sample of 6382 students (mean age=20.28, SD=3.75, 72.2% females) from seven countries (i.e., U.S., Canada, South-Africa, Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, England) completed the B-YAACQ, the AUDIT and different measures of alcohol use. Results: ROC analyses suggested that a cutoff score of 5 maximized the YAACQ's discrimination utility to differentiate between students at low versus moderate/high risk in the total sample and across countries (except in Canada, where the cutoff was 4). In addition, a cutoff of 7 differentiated between students at low/moderate versus high risk in the total sample, while cutoffs of 10, 9, 8 and 7 differentiate between students at low/moderate versus high risk in Uruguay, U.S and Spain (10), Argentina (9), England (8), and Canada and South-Africa (7), respectively. Students classified at the three risk levels (i.e., low, moderate and high) differed in age (i.e., a younger age was associated with higher risk) and drinking patters (i.e., higher drinking frequency, quantity, binge drinking and AUDIT and B-YAACQ scores in the higher risk groups). Conclusions: This study suggest that the B-YAACQ is a useful tool to identify college students at-risk for experiencing problematic patterns of alcohol use.

Keywords: College students; ROC analyses; alcohol; alcohol-related problems; screening.

Figure 1.

Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) for prediction of cutoffs for the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (B-YAACQ) that differentiate low versus moderate/high risk alcohol drinking, based on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores. ROC curves are separated by country (i.e., U.S., Canada, South-Africa, Spain, Argentina, Uruguay and England).

Figure 2.

Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) for prediction of cutoffs for the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (B-YAACQ) that differentiate low/moderate versus high risk alcohol drinking, based on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores. ROC curves are separated by country (i.e., U.S., Canada, South-Africa, Spain, Argentina, Uruguay and England).