The Fast Alcohol Screening Test (FAST) is as Good as the AUDIT to Screen Alcohol Use Disorders

Abstract

This study was aimed at assessing the psychometric qualities of the fast alcohol screening test (FAST), and at comparing these qualities to those of the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) in three samples of Brazilian adults: (i) subjects attended at an emergency department (530); (ii) patients from a psychosocial care center (40); and (iii) university students (429). The structured clinical interview for diagnosis (SCID)-IV was used as gold standard. The FAST demonstrated high test–retest and interrater reliability coefficients, as well as high predictive and concurrent validity values. The results attest the validity and reliability of the Brazilian version of the FAST for the screening of indicators of alcohol abuse and dependence.

RÉSUMÉ

El cuestionario FAST es tan válido como el AUDIT para el cribaje de trastornos por uso de alcohol

El objetivo fue evaluar las propiedades psicométricas del cuestionario de cribaje rápido de consumo de alcohol (FAST) comparándolas con las del AUDIT en tres muestras de adultos brasileños: (i) sujetos visitados en Urgencias (n = 530); (ii) pacientes de un Centro de Atención Psicosocial (n = 40) y; (iii) estudiantes universitarios (n = 429). Se utilizó la entrevista SCID-IV como patrón oro. El FAST demostró poseer una elevada fiabilidad interexaminadores y test-retest, así como un elevado valor predictivo y concurrente. Los resultados señalan que la versión brasileña del FAST posee una elevada fiabilidad y validez como cuestionario de cribaje del abuso y dependencia de alcohol.

RESUMEN

Le test FAST est aussi bon que l’AUDIT pour le dépistage de troubles dans la consommation d’alcool

Cette étude visait à évaluer les qualités psychométriques du test de dépistage d’alcool rapide (FAST), et les comparer à celles de l’AUDIT dans trois échantillons d’adultes brésiliens: (i) sujets examinés dans un service d’urgence (530), (ii) patients d’un centre de soins psychosociaux (40) et (iii) étudiants universitaires (429). Le SCID-IV a été utilisé comme étalon-or. Le FAST a fait preuve d’une grande fiabilité test-retest et inter-évaluateurs et d’un taux élevé de prédiction et concurrent. Les résultats attestent de la validité et la fiabilité de la version brésilienne du FAST pour le dépistage de l’abus et la dépendance de l’alcool.

Keywords :

• Fast alcohol screening test
• alcohol use disorders identification test
• psychometric properties
• alcohol use disorders

THE AUTHORS

Carolina Menezes-Gaya is a clinical psychologist. She is currently finishing her Ph.D. at the Department of Neuroscience and Behavior of the Ribeirão Medical School, University of São Paulo, Brazil. In this dissertation she investigates the prevalence and mechanisms of comorbid substance-use and psychiatric problems.

Antonio Waldo Zuardi, M.D., Ph.D., specializes in psychiatry, especially in rating scales, anxiety, psychosis, and cannabis-related disorders. He is full professor of Psychiatry at the Department of Neurosciences and Behavior of the Ribeirão Preto Medical School of University of Sao Paulo – Brazil.

Sonia Regina Loureiro, Ph.D., is psychologist and assistant professor at the Department of Neuroscience and Behavior of the Ribeirão Medical School, University of São Paulo. Her fields of interest include study of the psychometric properties of psychiatric rating scales and psychological assessment.

Jaime E. C. Hallak, M.D., Ph.D, is a Psychiatrist, specialized in schizophrenia, neuropsychiatric disorders, instruments and scales in psychiatry, and general hospital psychiatry. He is associate professor at the Department of Neurosciences and Behavior of the Ribeirão Preto Medical School of University of Sao Paulo – Brazil and director of training in psychiatry from 2005 of the University General Hospital. He is also Regional Coordinator of the National Institute of Science and Technology Translational in Medicine (INCT-TM).

Clarissa Trzesniak, M.Sc., is a clinical psychologist and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the Department of Neuroscience and Behavior of the Ribeirão Medical School, University of São Paulo, Brazil. Her research focuses on the neurodevelopmental abnormalities in neuropsychiatric disorders and the study of psychometric properties of rating scales.

João Paulo Machado-de-Sousa has a Psychologist degree and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the Department of Neuroscience and Behavior of the Ribeirão Medical School, University of São Paulo. His fields of interest include basic and social cognition, human experimental models of psychiatric disorders, and substance abuse, dependence and potentially therapeutic applications.

Marcos Hortes Nisihara Chagas, M.D., University of São Paulo, Brazil, is psychiatrist and behavior therapist. He is currently finishing his Master degree in Neurosciences. He has worked with validation of psychiatric rating scales and he integrates groups of research on social anxiety, psychopharmacology, behavior therapy, neuroimaging, and Parkinson's disease.

Roberto Molina de Souza, M.Sc., is statistics expert in biostatistics and in public health from the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto (FMRP), University of Sao Paulo (USP).

Rocio Martín-Santos, M.D., Ph.D., specializes in psychiatry, especially in neuroimaging, genetics, rating scales in psychiatry, and substance-use disorders. She is Head of the Section at the Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clinic, and researcher at the IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain, and INTC-TM, Brazil. She is also honorary researcher at the Section of Neuroimaging, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK.

José Alexandre S. Crippa, M.D., Ph.D., specializes in psychiatry, especially in neuroimaging, rating scales in psychiatry, and anxiety and substance-use disorders. He is assistant professor of Psychiatry in Department of Neurosciences and Behavior of the Ribeirão Preto Medical School of University of Sao Paulo – Brazil, and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Section of Neuroimaging, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK. He is also the vice-director of the National Institute of Science and Technology Translational in Medicine (INCT-TM).