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Psicothema was founded in Asturias (northern Spain) in 1989, and is published jointly by the Psychology Faculty of the University of Oviedo and the Psychological Association of the Principality of Asturias (Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos del Principado de Asturias).
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  • Director: Laura E. Gómez Sánchez
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The utility of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)for the analysis of binge drinking in university students

María Teresa Cortés Tomás1, José Antonio Giménez Costa1, Patricia Motos-Sellés1, María Dolores Sancerni Beitia1 and Fernando Cadaveira Mahía2

1 University of Valencia and
2 University of Santiago de Compostela

Background: The increasingly precise conceptualization of Binge Drinking (BD), along with the rising incidence of this pattern of intake amongst young people, make it necessary to review the usefulness of instruments used to detect it. Little evidence exists regarding effectiveness of the AUDIT, AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3 in the detection of BD. This study evaluates their utility in a sample of university students, revealing the most appropriate cut-off points for each sex. Methods: All students self-administered the AUDIT and completed a self-report of their alcohol consumption. A Two-step cluster analysis differentiated 5 groups of BD in terms of: the quantity consumed, the frequency of BD over the past six months and gender. A ROC curve adjusted cut-off points for each case. Results: 862 university students (18-19 years-old/59.5% female), 424 (49.2%) from Valencia and 438 (50.8%) from Madrid, had cut-off points of 4 in AUDIT and 3 in AUDIT-C as a better fit. In all cases, the best classifier was AUDIT-C. Neither version properly classifies students with varying degrees of BD. Conclusions: All versions differentiate BD from non-BD, but none are able to differentiate between types of BD.

Utilidad del Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) en el análisis del binge drinking en estudiantes universitarios. Antecedentes: la operacionalización cada vez más precisa del Binge Drinking (BD), unido a su elevada prevalencia entre los jóvenes, hace necesario revisar la utilidad de los instrumentos utilizados para detectarlo. Existe poca evidencia de la eficacia del AU-DIT y AUDIT-C en la detección del BD. Este artículo evalúa su utilidad en una muestra de universitarios, identificando los puntos de corte más adecuados, en función del sexo. Método: se cumplimentó el AUDIT y un autoregistro de consumo de alcohol. Un análisis de conglomerados en dos fases diferenció 5 grupos de BD en función de: cantidad consumida, frecuencia de realización en los últimos seis meses y género. Con curvas ROC se ajustaron los puntos de corte para cada caso. Resultados: 862 universitarios (18-19 años/59,5% mujeres), 424 (49,2%) de Valencia y 438 (50,8%) de Madrid obtuvieron puntos de corte de 4 en AUDIT y 3 en AUDIT-C como mejor ajuste. En todos los casos el mejor clasificador de BD fue el AUDIT-C. Ninguna versión clasifica adecuadamente a estudiantes con diferente intensidad de BD. Conclusiones: ambas versiones diferencian BD de noBD, pero ninguna de ellas permite distinguir entre tipos de BD.

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Impact factor 2022:  JCR WOS 2022:  FI = 3.6 (Q2);  JCI = 1.21 (Q1) / SCOPUS 2022:  SJR = 1.097;  CiteScore = 6.4 (Q1)