The Loughborough Alcohol Drinking Questionnaire (LoAD-Q) for Assessment of Emotional, External, and Restrained Drinking Behaviour

Researching alcohol-related addictive behaviours typically utilises questionnaires which measure a drinker’s level of alcohol use. However, these questionnaires typically either rely on a participant reporting the amount of alcohol they drink in units or a measure of disorderly drinking behaviour. Such measures do not necessarily capture the essence of drinking behaviours in the general population. This study aimed to validate a new alcohol drinking questionnaire and evaluate its internal consistency, factor structure, and test-retest reliability. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a 3-component structure, with the dimensions of emotional, external, and restrained drinking emerging as the primary constructs. Cronbach’s alpha values indicated good to excellent internal consistency ranging from α=.76 to α=.97 across its subscales. Test-retest reliability was high, with Pearson’s coefficients showing significant correlations between all test-retest items (p<.001). These findings suggest that the new questionnaire may be a reliable and valid instrument for measuring drinking behaviours. The questionnaire may offer a novel framework for categorising drinking behaviours and has the potential to inform interventions aimed at reducing harmful alcohol use. • Introduces the LoAD-Q, a novel self-report questionnaire for assessing emotional, external, and restrained drinking behaviours. • Exploratory factor analysis revealed a clear and robust three-component structure for the drinking behaviours measured. • The LoAD-Q demonstrated strong psychometric properties, including good to excellent internal consistency and high test-retest reliability. • This new instrument offers a valuable framework for categorising drinking behaviours with potential to inform targeted interventions.