ERIC Number: EJ748538
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Dec
Pages: 10
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0047-2891
EISSN: N/A
Measuring Alcohol Expectancies in Youth
Randolph, Karen A.; Gerend, Mary A.; Miller, Brenda A.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, v35 n6 p939-948 Dec 2006
Beliefs about the consequences of using alcohol, alcohol expectancies, are powerful predictors of underage drinking. The Alcohol Expectancies Questionnaire-Adolescent form (AEQ-A) has been widely used to measure expectancies in youth. Despite its broad use, the factor structure of the AEQ-A has not been firmly established. It is also not known whether it assesses similar constructs (i.e., measurement invariance) between boys and girls. This article reports on a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of a shortened version of the AEQ-A with 310 youth, ages 10-16, to determine whether a two factor, positive and negative expectancy structure held for this sample and to test measurement invariance across gender. The results support evidence of a 2-factor, positive and negative structure for the abbreviated version of the AEQ-A and show that it assesses equivalent alcohol expectancy constructs among males and females. These findings have important implications for cognitive based approaches to alcohol prevention.
Descriptors: Beliefs, Drinking, Expectation, Predictor Variables, Youth, Factor Structure, Gender Differences, Factor Analysis, Attitude Measures, Questionnaires
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A