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Saturday, May 14, 2011

Development and Validation of the Alcohol Identity Implicit Associations Test (AI-IAT)



Alcohol identity is the extent to which an individual perceives drinking alcohol to be a defining characteristic of his or her self-identity. Although alcohol identity might play an important role in risky college drinking practices, there is currently no easily administered, implicit measure of this concept. 

Therefore we developed a computerized implicit measure of alcohol identity (the Alcohol Identity Implicit Associations Test; AI-IAT) and assessed its reliability and predictive validity in relation to risky college drinking practices.

One hundred forty-one college students completed the AI-IAT. Again 3- and 6-months later, we administered the AI-IAT and indices of engagement in risky college drinking practices. A subset of participants also completed the previously-validated implicit measure of alcohol identity. 


Scores on the AI-IAT were stable over time, internally consistent, and positively correlated with the previously-validated measure of alcohol identity. 


Baseline AI-IAT scores predicted future engagement in risky college drinking practices, even after controlling for standard alcohol consumption measures. 

We conclude that the AI-IAT reliably measures alcohol identity, a concept that appears to play an important role in risky college drinking practices.


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