Measuring AA Involvement with the Health Belief Model

Clemson University, Clemson SC

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Reformulated Health Belief Model (HBM) provides a Cogent theoretical framework for understanding and predicting involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Thus, this exploratory/developmental (R21) application aims to develop a multidimensional instrument with a separate subscale for each of six HBM constructs (perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy) in relation to AA involvement. The application specifically aims to: (1) generate items for a preliminary form of the instrument that will assess respondents' perceptions toward their alcohol problems (i.e., susceptibility, severity) and AA (i.e., benefits, barriers, cues to action, self-efficacy); (2) produce a condensed form of the instrument by analyzing the dispersion of responses to its individual items, the internal consistencies of its subscales, and its overall factor structure; (3) assess the construct validity of the condensed instrument by examining correlations between its subscales and proxy measures of the six constructs; (4) assess the construct validity of the condensed instrument by using the known groups approach to determine if responses to the subscales vary between persons whose substance of choice is either alcohol or another drug; (5) examine the stability reliability of the condensed instrument and its six subscales over a 14 day period; and (6) evaluate the predictive validity of the condensed instrument by investigating whether responses to the overall scale and each of the six subscales are associated with involvement in AA over time. These aims will be accomplished over a three year funding period. The research will have meaningful implications. The theoretically-grounded instrument will be used to increase understanding about individual differences in motivation for participating in AA, which is the most widely utilized and available community resource for addressing alcohol problems in the U.S. and Canada. The instrument will also potentially be used to guide clinicians and others in making referrals to AA or alternative sources of help.