ALCOHOL USE DISORDERS (AUDS) AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A PSYCHOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF CRAVING UTILIZING THE ADOLESCENT-OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DRINKING SCALE (A-OCDS) AND PROPOSED DSM-5 AUD CRITERIA

Thesis (Ph.D.), Psychology, Washington State UniversityAlthough craving is a new criterion to the DSM-5, craving has an extensive history with the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Several models of craving have been articulated including behavioral learning, cognitive expectancy and neurobiological. These models contributed to a psychobiological three-pathway understanding of reward craving, coping craving and obsessive craving. Within these theoretical models, several craving measurement instruments have been constructed and validated. One of the most utilized craving instruments is the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS) that has been translated into several languages. A revised instrument was also constructed for use with adolescents: the Adolescent-Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (A-OCDS). This study examined the construct validity of A-OCDS with university students and usefulness of craving as a new symptom for alcohol use disorder in DSM-V. Participants: Participants were students at Washington State University (WSU), a large land-grant university in the Northwest (N= 301). Methods: The Mplus statistical software was used to perform the confirmatory factor analysis. The confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the global fit of a two-factor model for the A-OCDS craving measure as well as to analyze the proposed DSM-5 and DSM-IV-TR alcohol use disorder criteria. Results: The results support an interference and irresistibility two-factor model of the A-OCDS measure of craving. The results also support the A-OCDS as a means of assessing craving in the proposed DSM-5 alcohol use disorder diagnosis. The A-OCDS in the IRT analysis showed good discrimination and difficulty values that were comparable to the other DSM-5 criteria. Additionally, the results support the proposed change for the DSM-5 as the new model showed a better global fit and stronger probit coefficients. Finally, the proposed DSM-5 model with a single dimension of severity showed greater ability to differentiate between potential moderate and severe alcohol use disorders.Department of Psychology - Clinical, Washington State Universit