Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Substance Use Risk Profile Scale in Adulthood: An Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling Approach

  • Published:
Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

The substance use risk profile scale (SURPS) was developed to assess four personality risk factors: hopelessness, anxiety sensitivity, impulsivity, and sensation seeking. Psychometric validation work—mainly with adolescents and emerging adults—has struggled to support a four-factor simple structure without post-hoc modifications. This study aimed to clarify the factor structure of the SURPS using the most appropriate analytic framework in a sample of adults and investigate its ability to predict various alcohol-related outcomes and motives.

Methods

Adult participants (N = 400; Mage = 32.05, 55% male) completed the SURPS and measures capturing drinking habits and motives. Confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) approaches were used to analyze the dimensionality of the SURPS items, with measurement invariance examined across gender and age. Predictive validity was analyzed using multiple linear regression with observed subscale scores.

Results

Following poor fit of a traditional CFA model with four correlated factors, a four-factor ESEM model (allowing for non-zero item cross-loadings) provided a much stronger fit to the SURPS data. This ESEM model also had scalar invariance across age and gender. Observed subscale scores predicted hypothesized drinking motives. Sensation seeking uniquely predicted hazardous alcohol use while hopelessness, anxiety sensitivity, and sensation seeking uniquely predicted alcohol-related problems.

Conclusion

SURPS model fit was substantially better when using a contemporary ESEM approach. This approach tackles the challenge of CFA being too constraining when faced with the reality of item responses being influenced by correlated clinical constructs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

Given ethics requirements, please contact the corresponding author.

References

  • Ali, A., Carré, A., Hassler, C., Spilka, S., Vanier, A., Barry, C., & Berthoz, S. (2016). Risk factors for substances use and misuse among young people in France: What can we learn from the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale? Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 163, 84–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.03.027

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Annis, H. M., & Graham, J. M. (1995). Profile types on the Inventory of Drinking Situations: Implications for relapse prevention counseling. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 9(3), 176–182. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-164X.9.3.176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. (2009). Exploratory structural equation modeling. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 16(3), 397–438. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510903008204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Babor, T. F., Higgins-Biddle, J. C., Saunders, J. B., & Monteiro, M. G. (2001). The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test: Guidelines for use in primary care (2nd ed.). World Health Organization.

  • Baptist Mohseni, N., Morris, V., Vedelago, L., Kempe, T., Rapinda, K., Mesmer, E., Bilevicius, E., Wardell, J. D., MacKillop, J., & Keough, M. T. (2022). A longitudinal approach to understanding risk factors for problem alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 46(3), 434–446. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.14774

  • Bartel, S. J., Sherry, S. B., Smith, M. M., Vidovic, V. V., & Stewart, S. H. (2018). Is anxiety sensitivity a risk factor for, or complication of, alcohol misuse? A meta-analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 135, 258–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.07.031

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanchard, B. E., Stevens, A. K., Sher, K. J., & Littlefield, A. K. (2020). Reexamining the psychometric properties of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale. Assessment, 27(3), 454–471. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191118820135

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowen, N. K., & Masa, R. D. (2015). Conducting measurement invariance tests with ordinal data: A guide for social work researchers. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 6(2), 229–249. https://doi.org/10.1086/681607

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, T. A. (2015). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.

  • Bush, K., Kivlahan, D. R., McDonell, M. B., Fihn, S. D., & Bradley, K. A. (1998). The AUDIT alcohol consumption questions (AUDIT-C): An effective brief screening test for problem drinking. Ambulatory Care Quality Improvement Project (ACQUIP). Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Archives of Internal Medicine, 158(16), 1789–1795. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.158.16.1789

  • Canfield, M., Gilvarry, C., & Koller, S. H. (2015). Psychometric properties of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale-Brazilian version. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 13(2), 204–214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-014-9522-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cappell, H., & Herman, C. P. (1972). Alcohol and tension reduction: A review. Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 33, 33–63.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, K. M., & Hasin, D. S. (1998). Reasons for drinking alcohol: Relationships with DSM-IV alcohol diagnoses and alcohol consumption in a community sample. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 12(3), 168–184. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-164X.12.3.168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castellanos, N., & Conrod, P. (2006). Brief interventions targeting personality risk factors for adolescent substance misuse reduce depression, panic and risk-taking behaviours. Journal of Mental Health, 15(6), 645–658. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638230600998912

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castellanos-Ryan, N., O’Leary-Barrett, M., Sully, L., & Conrod, P. (2013). Sensitivity and specificity of a brief personality screening instrument in predicting future substance use, emotional, and behavioral problems: 18-month predictive validity of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 37(Suppl 1), E281–E290. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2012.01931.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Castellanos-Ryan, N., Rubia, K., & Conrod, P. J. (2011). Response inhibition and reward response bias mediate the predictive relationships between impulsivity and sensation seeking and common and unique variance in conduct disorder and substance misuse. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 35(1), 140–155. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2010.01331.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Castonguay-Jolin, L., Perrier-Ménard, E., Castellanos-Ryan, N., Parent, S., Vitaro, F., Tremblay, R. E., Garel, P., Séguin, J. R., & Conrod, P. J. (2013). SURPS French version validation in a Quebec adolescent population. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 58, 538–545.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (2020). COVID-19 national survey dashboard. https://www.camh.ca/en/healthinfo/mental-health-and-covid-19/covid-19-national-survey

  • Chen, F. F. (2007). Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 14, 464–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Comeau, N., Stewart, S. H., & Loba, P. (2001). The relations of trait anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and sensation seeking to adolescents’ motivations for alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. Addictive Behaviors, 26(6), 803–825. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0306-4603(01)00238-6

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Conrod, P. J., Stewart, S. H., Comeau, N., & Maclean, A. M. (2006). Efficacy of cognitive-behavioral interventions targeting personality risk factors for youth alcohol misuse. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35(4), 550–563. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp3504_6

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Conrod, P. J., Castellanos, N., & Mackie, C. (2008). Personality-targeted interventions delay the growth of adolescent drinking and binge drinking. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 49(2), 181–190. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01826.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, M. L., Frone, M. R., Russell, M., & Mudar, P. (1995). Drinking to regulate positive and negative emotions: A motivational model of alcohol use. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(5), 990–1005. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.69.5.990

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DeGrace, S., Baptist-Mohseni, N., Single, A., Keough, M. T., Wardell, J. D., & Stewart, S. H.(2021). Sex differences in maladaptive emotional and behavioral responses to COVID- 19: What is the role of personality?. Personality and Individual Differences, 178, 110834. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110834

  • DeMartini, K. S., & Carey, K. B. (2011). The role of anxiety sensitivity and drinking motives in predicting alcohol use: A critical review. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(1), 169–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.10.001

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eysenck, S. B., & Eysenck, H. J. (1978). Impulsiveness and venturesomeness: Their position in a dimensional system of personality description. Psychological Reports, 43(3, Pt 2), 1247–1255. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1978.43.3f.1247

  • Flora, D. B. (2020). Your coefficient alpha is probably wrong, but which coefficient omega is right? A tutorial on using R to obtain better reliability estimates. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 3(4), 484–501. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515245920951747

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flora, D. B., & Flake, J. K. (2017). The purpose and practice of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis in psychological research: Decisions for scale development and validation. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 49(2), 78. https://doi.org/10.1037/cbs0000069

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, L.-T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hustad, J. T. P., Pearson, M. R., Neighbors, C., & Borsari, B. (2014). The role of alcohol perceptions as mediators between personality and alcohol-related outcomes among incoming college-student drinkers. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 28(2), 336–347. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033785

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Jurk, S., Kuitunen-Paul, S., Kroemer, N. B., Artiges, E., Banaschewski, T., Bokde, A. L., Büchel, C., Conrod, P., Fauth-Bühler, M., Flor, H., Frouin, V., Gallinat, J., Garavan, H., Heinz, A., Mann, K. F., Nees, F., Paus, T., Pausova, Z., Poustka, L., … IMAGEN consortium. (2015). Personality and substance use: psychometric evaluation and validation of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) in English, Irish, French, and German adolescents. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 39(11), 2234–2248. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.12886

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kazemi, D. M., Levine, M. J., Dmochowski, J., Horn, K. R., & Qi, L. (2015). Health behaviors of mandated and voluntary students in a motivational intervention program. Preventive Medicine Reports, 2, 423–428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2015.05.004

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Krank, M., Stewart, S. H., O’Connor, R., Woicik, P. B., Wall, A. M., & Conrod, P. J. (2011). Structural, concurrent, and predictive validity of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale in early adolescence. Addictive Behaviors, 36(1–2), 37–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2010.08.010

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuntsche, E., & Kuntsche, S. (2009). Development and validation of the Drinking Motive Questionnaire Revised Short Form (DMQ-R SF). Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 38(6), 899–908. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374410903258967

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mackinnon, S. P., Kehayes, I.-L.L., Clark, R., Sherry, S. B., & Stewart, S. H. (2014). Testing the four-factor model of personality vulnerability to alcohol misuse: A three-wave, one-year longitudinal study. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 28(4), 1000–1012. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037244

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mahu, I. T., Doucet, C., O’Leary-Barrett, M., & Conrod, P. J. (2015). Can cannabis use be prevented by targeting personality risk in schools? Twenty-four-month outcome of the adventure trial on cannabis use: A cluster-randomized controlled trial. Addiction, 110(10), 1625–1633. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.12991

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Malmberg, M., Overbeek, G., Monshouwer, K., Lammers, J., Vollebergh, W. A., & Engels, R. C. (2010). Substance use risk profiles and associations with early substance use in adolescence. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 33(6), 474–485. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-010-9278-4

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. W., Nagengast, B., & Morin, A. J. S. (2013). Measurement invariance of big-five factors over the life span: ESEM tests of gender, age, plasticity, maturity, and la dolce vita effects. Developmental Psychology, 49(6), 1194–1218. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026913

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCabe, S. E., Cranford, J. A., Boyd, C. J., & Teter, C. J. (2007). Motives, diversion and routes of administration associated with nonmedical use of prescription opioids. Addictive Behaviors, 32(3), 562–575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2006.05.022

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, R. P. (1999). Test theory: A unified treatment. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

  • Memetovic, J., Ratner, P. A., & Richardson, C. G. (2014). Gender-based measurement invariance of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale. Addictive Behaviors, 39(3), 690–694. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.10.016

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, W. R. (1995). The Drinker Inventory of Consequences (DrInC): An instrument for assessing adverse consequences of alcohol abuse: Test manual (No. 95). US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

  • Moser, K., Pearson, M. R., Hustad, J. T., & Borsari, B. (2014). Drinking games, tailgating, and pregaming: Precollege predictors of risky college drinking. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 40(5), 367–373. https://doi.org/10.3109/00952990.2014.936443

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L.K., & Muthén, B.O. (2017). Mplus user’s guide (8th ed.). Muthén & Muthén.Olthuis, J. V., Watt, M. C., Mackinnon, S. P., & Stewart, S. H. (2015). CBT for high anxiety sensitivity: Alcohol outcomes. Addictive Behaviors, 46, 19–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.02.018

  • Olthuis, J. V., Watt, M. C., Mackinnon, S. P., & Stewart, S. H. (2015). CBT for high anxiety sensitivity: Alcohol outcomes. Addictive Behaviors, 46, 19–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.02.018

  • Omiya, S., Kobori, O., Tomoto, A., Igarashi, Y., & Iyo, M. (2015). Personality and substance use in Japanese adolescents: The Japanese version of Substance Use Risk Profile Scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 76, 153–157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.11.034

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pihl, R. O., & Peterson, J. B. (1995). Alcoholism: The role of different motivational systems. Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, 20(5), 372–396.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prolific Team (2020). Using attention checks as a measure of data quality [Web site]. May 19, 2020. Available from: https://researcher-help.prolific.co/hc/en-gb/articles/360009223553-Using-attention-checks-as-a-measureof-data-quality

  • Reiss, S., Peterson, R. A., Gursky, D. M., & McNally, R. J. (1986). Anxiety sensitivity, anxiety frequency and the prediction of fearfulness. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 24(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(86)90143-9

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Saunders, J. B., Aasland, O. G., Babor, T. F., de la Fuente, J. R., & Grant, M. (1993). Development of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): WHO collaborative project on early detection of persons with harmful alcohol consumption: II. Addiction, 88(6), 791–804. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1993.tb02093.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schlauch, R. C., Crane, C. A., Houston, R. J., Molnar, D. S., Schlienz, N. J., & Lang, A. R. (2015). Psychometric evaluation of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) in an inpatient sample of substance users using cue-reactivity methodology. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 37(1), 231–246. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-014-9462-x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, N. B., Zvolensky, M. J., & Maner, J. K. (2006). Anxiety sensitivity: Prospective prediction of panic attacks and Axis I pathology. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 40(8), 691–699. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2006.07.009

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Siu, A. F. Y. (2011). Validation of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale for adolescents in Hong Kong. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 29(1), 75–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282910362044

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, S. H. (1996). Alcohol abuse in individuals exposed to trauma: A critical review. Psychological Bulletin, 120(1), 83–112. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.120.1.83

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wardell, J. D., Kempe, T., Rapinda, K. K., Single, A., Bilevicius, E., Frohlich, J. R., Hendershot, C. S., & Keough, M. T. (2020). Drinking to cope during COVID-19 pandemic: The role of external and internal factors in coping motive pathways to alcohol use, solitary drinking, and alcohol Problems. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 44(10), 2073–2083. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.14425

  • White, H. R., & Jackson, K. (2004–2005). Social and psychological influences on emerging adult drinking behavior. Alcohol Research & Health, 28(4), 182–190.

  • Woicik, P. A., Stewart, S. H., Pihl, R. O., & Conrod, P. J. (2009). The Substance Use Risk Profile Scale: A scale measuring traits linked to reinforcement-specific substance use profiles. Addictive Behaviors, 34(12), 1042–1055. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2009.07.001

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, H., & Estabrook, R. (2016). Identification of confirmatory factor analysis models of different levels of invariance for ordered categorical outcomes. Psychometrika, 81(4), 1014–1045.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Zuckerman, M. (1979). Sensation seeking: Beyond the optimal level of arousal. Erlbaum.

Download references

Funding

This research was supported by general operating funds provided by York University to MTK. AMB was supported by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council through a Joseph Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship-Doctoral.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Behavioural Science Building 141, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Anthony M. Battaglia, David B. Flora & Matthew T. Keough

Authors
  1. Anthony M. Battaglia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David B. Flora
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Matthew T. Keough
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anthony M. Battaglia.

Ethics declarations

Ethics Approval

This online study was approved by the York University Research Ethics Board (REB #e2020-118).

Consent

All participants provided written online informed consent prior to participation in the study.

Conflict of Interest

The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Battaglia, A.M., Flora, D.B. & Keough, M.T. The Substance Use Risk Profile Scale in Adulthood: An Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling Approach. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 45, 1010–1022 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-023-10090-4

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-023-10090-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation