Developing a brief integrative biopsychosocial screening instrument to investigate influences of alcohol abuse and dependence in college age students: a mixed research study

Abstract

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to develop a reliable, valid, and clinically useful brief integrative biopsychosocial screening instrument to investigate influences of alcohol abuse and dependence in college age students. The Rein-Brief Integrative Biopsychosocial Screening Instrument (R-BIBSI) is a 30-item (alpha = 0.89), non-diagnostic, brief screening tool developed to aid drug and alcohol treatment professionals in treatment planning for persons experiencing substance abuse or dependence. The BIBSI is easily scored by clinical or non-clinical staff to assess six constructs of alcohol use influence: Biological Influence, Psychological Internally Expressed Influence, Psychological Externally Expressed Influence, Social Family Influence, Social Peer/Work Environmental Influence, and Social Cultural Influence. Item reduction processes included think-aloud, predictive validity testing utilizing paired samples t-test, and exploratory factor analysis. A convenience sample of 63 college age students provided data for validation and reliability testing of the R-BIBSI.