Evaluation of AUDIT consumption items new adaptation to improve the screening of college students Binge Drinking

The strong presence of Binge Drinking (BD) amongst university students, as well as the consequences associated with the same and the changes taking place over recent years regarding its conceptualization make it necessary to examine the usefulness of screening instruments used to detect this drinking pattern. This study examines the usefulness of a briefer adaptation of the AUDIT proposed by Cortés, Giménez, Motos, and Sancerni (2017a). College students self-administered the AUDIT, the revised items 2 and 3 (A2r and A3r), and completed a weekly self-report of their alcohol intake. BD was classified according to the amount consumed and the frequency of that consumption over the past six months. The AUDIT, AUDIT-C and items A2r+A3r (AR2I) were examined. The results obtained from a sample of 605 college students (18- 21 years old/55.2% female) indicate that 449 meet the BD criteria. Items A2r and A3r, adapted to the most consensual definition of BD, were found to identify 98% of BD college students when using a cutoff point of ≥ 3 in females and ≥ 4 in males with optimum levels of sensitivity and specificity. The new adaptation, which includes fewer items, identifies BD college students more accurately. This confirms the need to adjust both consumption items from the model according to the pattern of consumption in college students to detect BD more precisely and as soon as possible.