A Gender -Specific Alcohol Use Disorders Screening Instrument: Validation of a Measure

Most current screening instruments are less likely to detect problematic alcohol use among women than men. This study determined the sensitivity of WOMAN Screen, a gender-specific alcohol use disorders screening instrument proposed to more effectively identify problematic alcohol use among women. This study also tested the validity of the WOMAN Screen items. The sample consisted of 112 males and 75 females in residential or outpatient programs for substance use disorders. Chi-square statistics, one-way ANOVAs, and descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Males were more likely than females to experience five of seven withdrawal symptom items. The overall pattern of responses did not differ by gender for timing of initiation or frequency of occurrence. Females were more likely than males to experience two of four abuse items. The overall pattern of responses did not differ for timing of initiation or frequency of occurrence. The overall pattern of responses failed to differ by gender among those endorsing items associated with psychological assistance or sexual dysfunction, the timing of initiation, or frequency of occurrence. Males were more likely to experience motor vehicle accidents and arrests for drunk driving than females. The overall pattern of responses did not differ for timing of initiation but males had a higher mean number of arrests. Females 35 and older were more likely than those younger to experience early menopause. The overall pattern of responses did not differ by age group for timing of initiation or frequency of occurrence. WOMAN screen was less sensitive for females (sensitivity = 50.7%) than males (sensitivity = 56.3%) at a hypothesized cut point of five. TWEAK had the highest sensitivity for females of 72.2% at its standard cut point; WOMAN Screen had the lowest sensitivity at the hypothesized cut point of five. Twenty percent of females experienced menstrual cycle irregularities during periods of drinking and 13.3% reported drinking varied according to their menstrual cycle. Males were more likely to endorse all items in CAGE, BMAST, AUDIT, TWEAK, and RAPS than females, but the overall pattern of responses did not differ by gender for timing of initiation and frequency of occurrence.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Social Work

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Karoll, Brad R.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Barry Ackerson

• Women's Studies

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3130947

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/87323