Replication and Validation of the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire in a Large Sample of Canadian Undergraduates

Background: Undergraduate students experience diverse problems because of alcohol use. Accordingly, the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (YAACQ) was developed to assess multiple domains of alcohol-related problems. A preliminary psychometric evaluation in a U.S. college sample showed support for 8 factors that were invariant across gender and that loaded onto a single higher-order alcohol-related problems factor. Supporting concurrent validity, this preliminary work also found that YAACQ total scores correlated with heavy alcohol use. While these results are promising, the factor structure of the YAACQ has yet to be replicated. This goal of this study was to test the psychometrics of the YAACQ in a large Canadian student sample. Invariance across gender, year of study, place of residence, and relative drinking level was examined. Correlations between the YAACQ subscales and alcohol use measures were investigated to test concurrent validity.

Methods: Students (N = 1,103, 80% women) completed online self-reports.

Results: Results from a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported an 8-factor lower-order structure, with all factors loading onto a single higher-order alcohol-related problems factor. Multigroup CFAs supported measurement invariance across gender, year of study, place of residence, and relative drinking level. YAACQ subscales were positively correlated with weekly alcohol use and binge drinking.

Conclusions: Our study provides an important replication of the psychometrics of the YAACQ in a new sample, and we extend previous work by presenting novel tests of measurement invariance across meaningful groups in young adulthood. Overall, our study suggests that the 48-item YAACQ is a valid measure of alcohol-related problems in Canadian students.