Citation

Rubin A, Migneault JP, Marks L, Goldstein E, Ludena K, Friedman RH. J. Stud. Alcohol 2006; 67(3): 454-457.

Affiliation

Addiction Services WEH 101, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 16 Blossom Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA. arubin1@partners.org

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16608156

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed test-retest reliability and criterion validity for an automated version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), a screening tool for alcohol-related problems. Participants' willingness to use such a system to learn about and change their drinking behavior was also assessed. METHOD: Participants were 202 callers recruited through newspaper ads and flyers asking for volunteers concerned about their drinking and willing to help test a new method of screening and referral for alcohol problems. Participants were divided into two groups. The first group of subjects recruited received the Telephone-Linked Communications (TLC)-AUDIT twice, administered a week apart. The second group received the TLC-AUDIT once and a human-administered AUDIT once, also a week apart. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability was assessed in 102 participants; the intraclass correlation of AUDIT scores between both administrations was .87; kappa for nonproblem versus problem drinking (AUDIT score of 8 or above) was .89. The validity study compared the TLC-AUDIT scores of the next 100 participants to AUDIT questions administered by a human interviewer. The intraclass correlation was .94; kappa was .75. Seventy-five percent of all participants who screened positive for problem drinking agreed they would "talk to a computer again to learn more about your drinking pattern and how to deal with it". CONCLUSIONS: Automated telephone technology can be used to administer the AUDIT instrument with high levels of reliability and validity. This technology could be used to deliver behavioral change interventions.

Language: en