Anticipated Effects of Alcohol Scale Suppl1

Anticipated Effects of Alcohol Scale_Suppl1

The Anticipated Effects of Alcohol Scale 1

Supplemental Description of Studies used to Evaluate the Reliability and Validity of the Proposed Interpretation of AEAS Test Scores"

The AEAS was included in four separate studies for purposes of psychometric evaluation. Details regarding the recruitment of participants and study procedures are outlined below.

Study1:AlcoholAdministrationStudy

The AEAS was included within a battery of self-report questionnaires administered as part of a follow-up to an alcohol administration study designed to assess the impact of alcohol consumption on gambling persistence and betting behavior in a simulated bar setting.

Participants A combination of paper flyers, print advertisements, and postings on Craig’s List was used to recruit 115 study participants from several college campuses in New HavenCounty and from the greater New Haven community. Recruitment materials indicated that individuals between the ages of 21 and 30 who drink and gamble may be eligible for participation in an alcohol research study that pays $12 per hour ($50 minimum). Eligibility was determined through a brief phone screen. To ensure that the amount of alcohol served during the alcohol administration protocol would not represent an atypically large volume for any participant, eligibility was contingent on weekly consumption of at least three drinks on a single occasion for the last 3 months (e.g., John consumed 4 drinks every Tuesday night for the three month duration of his bowling league). Also linked to the alcohol administration component of the study, exclusion criteria included participant reports of: (1) any adverse reaction to alcohol (e.g., flushing response); (2) current or past enrollment in abstinence-oriented programs for alcohol or gambling problems; and (3) for women, pregnancy. While unrelated to the aims of the current study, participants also had to report playing poker at least once in the past year to ensure that they would understand how to "play" the poker task included in the larger study.

Ultimately, data from 108 participants were used for the validation of the AEAS. Data from 7 participants were excluded due to incomplete AEAS data.

Procedure Once participants were deemed eligible for participation, they were scheduled to attend the first of two sessions in the simulated bar lab. The first session, which was attended by groups of 2-4 participants, involved providing informed consent, beverage administration (alcohol or placebo), and playing a video poker task. Of central import to the current study, participants returned to the lab two weeks after the alcohol administration session to complete an interview assessing their drinking over the past month and a series of computer-based self-report measures assessing demographics, mood, alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, and alcohol expectancies (including the Anticipated Effects of Alcohol Scale (AEAS)). Based on weight and gender, all participants who completed the AEAS as part of the follow-up were provided with personalized information about how many drinks they would need to consume to reach a blood alcohol level of at least .08 prior to completing the AEAS; a research assistant inserted the personalized number of drinks into the instruction section of the AEAS. Upon finishing the questionnaires, participants were debriefed and compensated for their time at a rate of $12 per hour plus a standard $20 "bonus" for playing the poker task.

Study2:TheHealthBehaviorsSurvey

The AEAS was included in the Health Behaviors Survey, a large self-report survey designed to examine adults' engagement in a range of behaviors including substance use.

Participants One hundred eleven participants were recruited using flyers that were posted around the Yale campus and throughout the broader New Haven community. The only eligibility requirement was that participants had to be at least 18 years old. Three participants failed to complete the AEAS and one participant's data was inadvertently deleted due to a computer programming error. Thus, data from 107 participants was used for purposes of developing and validating the AEAS.

Procedure Participants who responded to the flier and were over the age of 18 were invited to come into the lab to complete a series of computerized self-report measures. Once participants arrived at the lab, they were asked to provide consent for completing the 1-hour secure web-based survey (Surveymonkey) and for having their height and weight measured. Participant weight and gender were used to determine the individualized number of drinks each participant would need to consume to reach a blood alcohol level of at least .08. All participants who provided consent were compensated $10.

Study3:The2012Survey

The AEAS was included in the 2012 Survey, a large web-based survey designed to examine the transition to college among entering college freshmen and to identify factors associated with positive adjustment during the first year.

Participants The entire freshmen class of a private New England university (N=1320) was contacted via email and invited to complete a secure online survey (Surveymonkey) assessing a variety of behaviors related to adjustment to college life including: emotional well-being, social support, time management, and substance use. The recruitment email informed participants that the survey could be completed in approximately 1-hour from any computer with internet access within a specified period of 3 weeks. Reminder emails were sent on days 5, 10, 15, and 20 to all participants who had yet to complete the survey or who had not explicitly declined participation on the consent form. The final recruitment email indicated that participants had 24-hours remaining to complete the survey. Six hundred ninety five students began the survey, representing a response rate of approximately 53%. However, 364 students were either missing demographic data, discontinued the survey before reaching the AEAS, or had less than 50% valid data, leaving 331 valid cases for purposes of development and validation of the AEAS.

Procedure If participants were interested in completing the survey, they simply clicked a link that was provided to them in the recruitment email(s). Prior to completing the survey, all participants provided consent. The consent form, like the survey itself, was presented electronically. Participants then completed the battery of questionnaires including the AEAS. The version of the AEAS included in the 2012 Survey was standardized for all participants, with instructions prompting men to imagine consuming 5 drinks within 2 hours when reporting on their AEs and women to imagine consuming 4 drinks. All individuals who began the survey received a $5 Amazon.com gift certificate via email and were entered into a drawing to win an mp3 player.

Study 4: The AEAS Test-Rest Reliability Study

Participants 55 participants were recruited from the same campus and throughout the broader community using paper flyers and online postings on Craig's List. The only eligibility requirement was that participants had to be between the ages of 18 and 25. All participants had valid data and were therefore included in the test-retest reliability analyses presented in the current study.

Procedure Eligible participants were invited to come into the lab on two separate occasions, separated by a period of two weeks, to complete a series of computerized self-report measures. Once participants arrived at the lab for the first session, they provided consent for completing the web-based survey (Surveymonkey). Participants completed the online surveys and scheduled their follow-up session. Participants were compensated $20.