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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Psychology

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2008

Drinking

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

A Brief Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index With Less Potential For Bias, Mitch Earleywine, Joseph W. Labrie, Eric R. Pedersen Sep 2008

A Brief Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index With Less Potential For Bias, Mitch Earleywine, Joseph W. Labrie, Eric R. Pedersen

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The Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI), a popular measure of alcohol-related problems in adolescents, varies with many theoretically-relevant measures of individual differences, including sex. The sex differences in RAPI scores fit many models of alcohol problems but could also arise from biased items. In addition, a short form could increase the scale’s utility. The current study examined RAPI scores, an additional inventory of problem drinking, and measures of alcohol consumption in over 2,000 college student drinkers. Analyses revealed items that functioned differentially for men and women. Dropping these items created a shorter scale with almost identical psychometric properties but less …