Blootstelling van kinderen aan het ouderlijk alcoholgebruik: Valideringsonderzoek van de electronic Appropriate Beverage Task

Abstract

Background. The aim of the present study was to validate the eABT to measure the effect of the exposure of alcohol use by parents on children. In order to investigate the validity of this instrument, the present study tested whether a distribution exists in the eABT-situations, of which it was assumed that it corresponds to the general alcohol norms of parents. Methods. Cross-sectional data collected from 52 families in the Netherlands consisting of at least one parent and a child (age ranging 4-8 years) were used for the analyses. The sample was selected from randomly selected primary schools in the province of Utrecht. The parents completed an online questionnaire. Factor analyses, based on the parents questionnaire, have been used to investigate any distribution and differences between distributions according to sex, degree of education and frequency and intensity of alcohol use of parents. Results. The results revealed a distribution of three categories in the eABT situations. Frequency and intensity of alcohol use, and education level were from minimal influence on this distribution, contrary to sex, which had more influence on the distribution.. Conclusions. The current study is one of the first to test the validity of the eABT. It was concluded that the eABT is probably a valid instrument. Future research should involve a larger and more representative sample in order to confirm this and to test the significance of the differences between sex, education level and frequency and intensity of alcohol use.