Development of the Athlete Drinking Scale.

Prior research has found that intercollegiate athletes consume more alcohol and experience more negative alcohol-related consequences than nonathletes, but no measure of sport-related reasons for alcohol use currently exists. The purpose of this study was to develop such a measure, which the authors termed the Athlete Drinking Scale (ADS). An exploratory factor analysis supported the existence of 3 subscales: Positive Reinforcement, Team/Group, and Sport-Related Stress. Additional analyses supported the internal consistency and construct validity of the subscales, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that the ADS accounted for a significant amount of variance in both alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems among intercollegiate athletes. The ADS appears to be a promising tool for measuring sport-related reasons for intercollegiate athlete alcohol use.