Publication year: 2011
Source: Addictive Behaviors, Available online 12 October 2011
H. Karen Li, Genevieve A. Dingle
The Drinking Expectancy Questionnaire (Young & Knight, 1989; Young & Oei, 1996) has been widely used in clinical and research settings over the past 20 years. A revised scoring method with a five-factor structure has been proposed but no norms for this method is available (Lee, Oei, Greeley, & Baglioni, 2003). The aim of this study is to establish sample means for the five expectancy subscales (Social Confidence; Sexual Interest; Cognitive Enhancement; Tension Reduction; and Negative Consequences) in a sample of adults entering hospital treatment for alcohol dependence (N = 163) and a sample of university undergraduate students (N = 110). Clinical sample means on the expectancy subscales tended to be substantially higher than the means for the student sample, with the exception of Sexual Interest (which was higher in the students). Interestingly, the Negative Consequences subscale mean was more than two standard deviations higher in the clinical sample, and was strongly correlated with measures of depression, anxiety and stress. The Negative Consequences scores were strongly associated with drinking risk in the student sample but were not related to drinking measures in the clinical sample. A ROC analysis established a cut-off on the DEQ total of 107 that distinguished dependent drinkers from student drinkers with high sensitivity and specificity. The clinical utility of the DEQ in general will be discussed.
Highlights
► Clinical and university student sample means for the revised scoring method of the Drinking Expectancy Questionnaire ► Endorsements of the negative consequences of drinking are not related to drinking indicators in clinical samples ► High levels of treatment resistant alcohol expectancies can be predictive of adverse drinking outcomes post treatment