Psychometric properties and concurrent validity of the CRAFFT among Norwegian adolescents. Ung@hordaland, a population-based study

The aim of the study was to examine the psychometric properties of the CRAFFT-questionnaire, and its concurrent validity with self-reported measures of alcohol consumption and illicit drug use ever among Norwegian adolescents. This study employs data from the ung@hordaland survey (N = 9680). The concurrent validity of the CRAFFT-questionnaire was examined both as a case-finder with different cut-offs, but also as an ordinal scale. The ordinal scale was constructed by counting the number of affirmative responses from 0 to 6. Current self-reported excessive alcohol consumption, frequent binge drinking and any illicit drug use ever were employed as concurrent validity measures. The internal reliability of CRAFFT was adequate, and there was a linear relationship between CRAFFT-score and excessive alcohol consumption, frequent binge drinking and illicit drug use ever for both genders. Overall, this study shows a good concurrent validity and adequate psychometric properties of the CRAFFT-questionnaire. There results indicate, however, that the use of CRAFFT as a case-finder needs further research, as a suitable cut-point was difficult to determine. The authors conclude that in a clinical setting one positive answer is enough to warrant further investigation, and for research purposes the use of the questionnaire as an ordinal scale or using a cut-point of 2 might be preferable.