Development of the Alcohol and Cannabis Simultaneous Use Scale (ACSUS) in college students

ABSTRACT

Background

Despite the prevalence and negative outcomes associated with simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use (i.e., marijuana [SAM] use, i.e., so that the effects of both alcohol and cannabis overlap) among college students, there is no comprehensive measure of SAM use, with past research relying on single items. The present study aimed to develop the Alcohol and Cannabis Simultaneous Use Scale (ACSUS), a comprehensive self-report measure of SAM use frequency, quantity, and problems in college students.

Methods

College students at two Midwestern universities who used alcohol and cannabis (Study 1: N = 534; Mean age = 19; 71% female; 88% White; Study 2: N = 258; Mean age = 21; 81% female; 85% White) completed the newly developed ACSUS.

Results

Exploratory factor analysis (Study 1) revealed that the ACSUS fits best with 9-items representing two factors: Factor 1 measures frequency and quantity of SAM use and Factor 2 measures associated problems with SAM use. Confirmatory factor analysis (Study 2) supported the two-factor structure of the ACSUS, which was positively associated with measures of alcohol use, cannabis use, simultaneous use motives, and impulsivity.

Conclusions

These data provide initial support for the ACSUS, developed to investigate the frequency, quantity, and associated problems with SAM use in college students.

KEYWORDS:

• Simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use
• self-report measure
• measure development

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Percentages sum to over 100% as participants could select multiple races.

Additional information

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number F31DA051140. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.