Psychometric properties of the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised among community-dwelling current drinkers in the Ningxia autonomous region of China

Abstract

Introduction and aims: The 20-item Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R)-which assesses social, enhancement, coping and conformity-related motives for drinking-has not previously been used in China. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the DMQ-R in China.

Design and methods: DMQ-R was administered to 612 current drinkers identified from a representative sample of 2425 non-institutionalised adults living in Ningxia Province, China; 44 of these current drinkers were re-administered the questionnaire an average of 2.5 days later. Confirmatory factor analysis compared the adequacy of fit of alternative conceptual models. Due to the collectivist culture in China, we considered the possibility that item 12 ('to fit in the group I like') is an indicator of a 'social' motive (in Western studies, it is an indicator of a 'conformity' motive).

Results: Social motives for drinking were more frequently endorsed than other motives. The intraclass correlation coefficients for the test-retest reliability of the four subscales varied from 0.63 to 0.80. The originally conceptualised four-factor model showed good fit to the data [root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.043, comparative fit index = 0.949 and Tucker-Lewis index = 0.941]. Fit indices improved (RSMEA = 0.034, comparative fit index = 0.968 and Tucker-Lewis index = 0.963) when item 12 was included in the 'social' dimension rather than the 'conformity' dimension. The 12-item short form of DMQ-R showed similar psychometric properties, but the fit indices were suboptimal.

Discussion and conclusions: DMQ-R is a valid and reliable tool to assess drinking motives among current drinkers in China. Future studies in China using the DMQ-R should consider item 12 a social motive. [Cheng HG, Phillips MR, Zhang Y, Wang Z. Psychometric properties of the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised among community-dwelling current drinkers in the Ningxia autonomous region of China. Drug Alcohol Rev 2016;35:433-441].

Keywords: China; DMQ-R; drinking motivation; reliability; validity.