Assessing the World Health Organization's Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test Among Incarcerated Women

ABSTRACT

The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), developed by the World Health Organization, was administered to 400 incarcerated, drug-using women in order to assess its utility, validity, and reliability. Principal component factor analysis and reliability tests were conducted. Sensitivity and specificity for all possible AUDIT cutoff points were computed, and a Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve was plotted to suggest an AUDIT cutoff point for identifying problem drinkers. This cutoff point was then assessed as to its concurrent and discriminant validity. Principal component factor analysis identified one factor that accounted for a substantial portion (67.3%) of the total variance of the AUDIT, a result that indicated that the AUDIT could be used as a consistent and summated screening tool for identifying problem drinkers. Internal consistency was high (Alpha = 0.94). The ROC curve, sensitivity, and specificity tests suggest that a total AUDIT score of 10 or more is a reliable indicator of problem drinking. Significant differences were found between problem drinkers and non-problem drinkers with respect to psychological symptoms, trauma history, physical illness, and socio-demographic characteristics. This study's results demonstrate that the AUDIT can be used to identify problem drinkers among incarcerated, drug-using women.