Psychometric evaluation of a standardized set of alcohol cue photographs to assess craving

• This study presents psychometric properties of a new set of alcohol photo cues.
• Images of alcohol standardized with beverage as the primary focus of each image
• Alcohol cue craving ratings formed one internally consistent factor.
• Findings supported convergent, incremental, and discriminant validity of cues.

IntroductionResearch using alcohol-related visual stimuli has been limited due to a lack of published studies examining the psychometric properties of alcohol cues. The primary aim of the current study was to examine the factor structure, validity, and reliability of craving ratings following exposure to alcohol cues (including beer, wine, hard liquor, and mixed drinks) in an alcohol cue-reactivity paradigm.MethodsU.S. adults ages 21-69 [N = 195; Mage = 32.19, SD = 10.63; 74.4% male; 56.4% Asian/Pacific Islander, 34.9% White (non-Hispanic), 4.6% Other, 2.0% Hispanic/Latino, 1.5% Native American/Alaskan Native, and 0.5% African-American] completed questionnaires and provided craving, arousal, and valence ratings following alcohol, positive, negative and neutral cues in a web-based study.ResultsThe alcohol craving ratings following alcohol cues formed one internally consistent factor. Convergent and incremental validity was supported as alcohol cue craving ratings were positively correlated with general craving, past-year hazardous alcohol use, and behavioral activation facets, even while controlling for neutral cue craving ratings and other related variables. Alcohol craving was significantly higher following alcohol cues compared to neutral cues and unrelated to behavioral inhibition, supporting discriminant validity.ConclusionsThese findings provide support that the alcohol cues we developed are reliable and valid stimuli for the use in alcohol cue reactivity paradigms. Future research assessing alcohol cue reactivity using this validated photographic cue set may facilitate a greater understanding of the affective processes associated with alcohol use and allow for more targeted behavioral change interventions for alcohol-related problems.