The Czech AUDIT: Internal Consistency and Latent Structure Ladislav Csémy and Hana Sovinová National Institute of Public Health, Czech Republic Inebria Conference Newcastle, October 2009

Marginalized alcohol abusers …are they seeking for treatment?

Status of the EIBI in the Czech Republic Early identification and brief intervention represent an approach that may reduce alcohol-related problems. EIBI is a new approach in the Czech Republic, which has been introduced in the frame of our collaboration in PHEPA Project. AUDIT seems to be a widely tested instrument useful for screening of alcohol-related problems in offices of general practitioners and in the population as well.     

Compared to other countries - untill the recent years - we had little experience with EIBI and AUDIT. This exercise aims to bridge this gap. The analyses presented here are also preparatory work for application of the AUDIT in a larger research study funded by the Czech Ministry of Health and focused on alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems among young adult Czechs.

AUDIT - Item : Item correlation Values above the diagonal: Population Sample, Under the diagonal: General Practitioner’s Sample

Reliability analyses:– item-scale statistics

Histogram of the AUDIT Scores

Results of the principal components analyses

Conclusions The internal consistency of the AUDIT was quite good in both sites (Cronbach’s alpha = .83 for general population sample and .77 for general practitioner’s sample). The mean score on AUDIT was higher in general population sample compared to doctor’s sample (5.05 vs. 4.19). It seems that social desirability might influence the respondent when reports about his/her drinking in a GP’s office. The results of the principal component analyses suggest similar factor composition in datasets from both sites. Two factors were identified: drinking practices and drinking problems (signs of dependence + consequences of drinking).

According to the AUDIT applied in general population almost one in five of the sample drinks hazardously or harmfully (19 %). This percentage is lower among patients of GPs (14 %). Results showed plausibility of the Czech AUDIT. The new research project enables to focus more on validity of the scale.     

Thank you for your attention. This work has been supported by the grant #NS9645-4/2008 from IGA MH CR