The Emerging Adult Reasons for Substance Use (EARS): Preliminary Support for Multidimensionality, Validity and Reliability

Abstract

Introduction: Substance use peaks during the transition to adulthood, beckoning additional research on its developmental influences. This article reports initial findings on the validity and reliability of the Emerging Adult Reasons for Substance use (EARS), a new measure of substance use motives based on Arnett’s (2000) proposed emerging adult dimensions. Method: Content experts in emerging adulthood theory generated EARS items and collected data from a large online sample. We completed exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) on split halves of the total sample (n = 750). Then, we tested for invariance across genders and age cohorts, as well as examined cross-correlations with the Inventory of Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA), Drinking Motives Questionnaire (DMQ-Revised), and measures of substance use. Results: The EFA identified three internally consistent factors: Normative Expectancy, Developmental Strain, and Subjective Invulnerability. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the three factor model, but fit indices were slightly below published standards (RSMEA = .82, CFI = .85, TLI = .83, SRMR = .07). For Normative Expectancy and Developmental Strain, intercepts varied across age cohorts, with higher intercepts for emerging relative to older adults. The patterns of correlations generally supported the construct validity of the EARS subscales. Conclusion: The EARS is reliable and valid, and appears to measure developmentally specific motives for substance use. Additional studies may further validate this promising instrument.

Keywords:

• Emerging adulthood
• alcohol use
• substance use
• confirmatory factor analysis

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Marjorie Monkman Research Award from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s School of Social Work (PI, Smith), the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (PI; Smith), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse 1R36DA041538 (PI: Davis). We want to thank Emily Hartung, Devin Borgman, and Tara Dumas for help with data collection and initial item pool generation. We also thank the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design (BERD) Core within the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Notes

1 Early literature identified emerging adulthood as the period between 18-25 years of age, but subsequent research supports it lasting through age 29. Recent epidemiological studies show that the peak prevalence of substance use is shifting to the later 20’s, further supporting the elongation of adolescence as it pertains to risk behavior such as substance use (Patrick et al., 2019). Thus, here we define emerging adulthood as lasting between ages 18 and 29.