Brief Description:
• Khavari and Farber (1978)
• Classifies drinkers into 5 groups: heavy drinkers, high frequency binge drinkers, low frequency binge drinkers, social drinkers, and non-drinkers
• Conceptually based on work by Cahalan et al. involving 3 ways of quantifying alcohol consumption: quantity – frequency (Q-F), quantity-frequency-variability (Q-F-V), and volume – variability (V-V)
Versions:
• English
Type of Measure:
• Self-completed
• 12 items
• 4 questions each about beer, wine, and distilled spirits consumption on a 12-item scale ranging from 0 (never consumed) to 11 (consumed daily).
Target Population:
• Adults
• College students
Scoring:
• Uses frequency formulas which provide two subject profile summaries: Frequency-Cumulative and the Annual Absolute Alcohol Intake (AAAI)
Psychometrics:
Source reference: Khavari and Farber (1978): 2237 participants from a non-random sample of 2303 college students, Air Force reservists and members of labour unions, and the adult general populations
• AAAI was the best predictor of SMAST (Short Michigan Alcohol Screening Test) scores (r = 0.33)
• Correctly differentiates between a group of non-drinkers and a group of heavy drinkers
• Test-retest after 2 weeks gave reliability coefficients ranging from 0.78 to 0.98 with a mean correlation of 0.92
Morawska et al. (2005): 114 university students in Brisbane, Australia
• Validity: KAT correctly classified 84% of cases when comparing KAT scores to self-reported drinking.
Utility for Prevalence Surveys:
• Fair
Research Applicability:
• Good when a measure of alcohol consumption is required
Copyright, Cost, and Source Issues:
• Unclear
Source Reference:
Khavari, K., & Farber, P. D. (1978). A profile instrument for the quantification and assessment of alcohol consumption: The Khavari Alcohol Test. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 39(9). 1525-1539.
Supporting Reference:
Morawska, A., & Oei, T. P. S. (2005). Binge drinking in university students: A test of the cognitive model. Addictive Behaviors, 30(2), 203-218.
Cahalan, D., Cisin, I. H., & Crossley, H. M. (1969). American drinking practices: A national study of drinking behaviour and attitudes. (Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies, Monogr. No. 6.) New Brunswick, N.J.
Strengths:
• Designed for prevalence studies
Weaknesses:
• Assesses drinking style and quantity only
• Limited psychometric data