Psychometric properties and factor structure of an Ecuadorian version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in college students.

Abstract

BackgroundThe Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is the gold standard in assessing harmful alcohol intake, which is responsible for substantial morbidity and mortality.ObjectiveThe goal of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties and factor structure of an Ecuadorian adaptation of a Spanish translation of the AUDIT in a large sample of college students in Ecuador.MethodsA total of 7905 students, including 46.26% males, and 53.75% females, from 11 universities in Ecuador, were surveyed. The questionnaire was tested for two- and three-factor structures, reliability, and correlations with other health related measures.ResultsThe Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test for sampling adequacy was satisfactory (.0885), and Bartlett´s test for sphericity was significant (p ConclusionThe Ecuadorian adaptation of the Spanish version of the AUDIT has good reliability, and internal consistency and correlates with other health related measures, proving to be a reliable tool that can be used by researchers and clinicians to screen hazardous alcohol intake in college students.