NCJ Number
200037
Journal
Drug and Alcohol Review Volume: 22 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2003 Pages: 53-59
Editor(s)
John B. Saunders
Date Published
March 2003
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study provides data on the reliability and validity of instruments measuring family cohesion, independence of family members, family conflict, the risk of alcohol-related problems, alcohol expectancies, and alcohol consumption in remote indigenous Australian communities.
Abstract
Patterns of alcohol consumption in remote Aboriginal Australian communities are different from those in European-derived Australian populations. Little is known about the association of family functioning and alcohol abuse in Aboriginal Australians or the mechanisms that may link these problems. The aim of this study was to examine the internal coherence and reliability of measures of family and alcohol measure for indigenous Australians in remote communities. The research was conducted with Aboriginal people living in a remote community in Northern Queensland, Australia. The study sample consisted of 99 males (n=49) and females (n=50), completing self-report questionnaires. To measure alcohol consumption and alcohol problems, the Khavari Alcohol Test (KAT), a 12-item self-report quantity/frequency measure of alcohol consumption, and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), 10 items measuring symptoms of hazardous drinking and alcohol dependence, were used. In terms of alcohol consumption, the majority of males (81 percent) were either abstinent or high-risk drinkers. The majority of females (77 percent) were abstinent and 13 percent reported high-risk drinking. These results were consistent with previous research on alcohol consumption in Aboriginal communities. Internal reliability was sound for the AUDIT and the high correlation between KAT and AUDIT responses were consistent with high convergent validity for the two measures. However, there were some inconsistencies in the classification of alcohol problems across the two measures for males. This study provides preliminary psychometric data on measure of alcohol problems, alcohol expectancies, and family characteristics for remote indigenous people. These measures should be useful to researchers and health workers in the detection and assessment of alcohol problems and family problems in remote indigenous communities, as well as evaluating or documenting the outcomes of interventions designed to reduce alcohol and family problems in remote communities. References