The information capacity of adolescent alcohol consumption indicators along a continuum of severity: A cross-national comparison of sixteen Central and Eastern European countries

Abstract

Background There is high variability between European countries in prevalence levels of various alcohol consumption forms. The informational value of adolescent’s alcohol consumption indicators remains an issue. The present study aimed to examine information capacity and measurement invariance of different alcohol consumption indicators in adolescents coming from countries of the former Soviet (Eastern) Bloc in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Methods Data of 15-year-old adolescents who reported to have had consumed alcohol at least once in their lifetime were analysed. Data were collected in sixteen CEE countries, as part of the 2013/2014 Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study wave. Four binary items were selected for the analyses and measured the presence (vs. absence) of alcohol consumption in the last 30 days, lifetime drunkenness, weekly drinking frequency and binge drinking on a typical occasion. Multiple group confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory analysis were used. Results In most of the included countries, alcohol consumption in the last 30 days and lifetime drunkenness were indicative for lower severity levels, while binge drinking and weekly drinking frequency were informative at higher severity levels of alcohol use. A low proportion of the estimated intercepts and factor loadings were non-invariant which indicated approximate cross-national invariance of these indicators. Conclusions Adolescent alcohol consumption indicators are informative for different severity levels and provide a cross-nationally invariant measurement. However, diverging drinking cultures in the CEE regions was suggested by different indicators with the highest discrimination capacity at the lower and the higher ends of the continuum severity.