Temptations to Drink Instrument

Abstract

The Temptations to Drink Instrument (TTDI) is a concise, 12-item self-report scale designed to measure an individual’s situational temptation toward heavy, episodic drinking. Developed as a short form derived from an original 21-item inventory by Migneault, the TTDI assesses temptations across four distinct domains: peer influence, emotional distress, social anxiety, and positive social situations. Psychometric validation confirms that the short form maintains equivalent statistical integrity and applicability to the original, making it a valuable tool for alcohol prevention programs focusing on non-dependent populations.

Keywords

Alcohol, Temptation, Situational drinking, Heavy drinking, Binge drinking, Peer pressure, Negative affect, Psychometrics, Alcohol scale

Authors

Maddock, Jay E., Laforge, Roger G., Rossi, Joseph S.

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the Temptations to Drink Instrument is to quantify the degree to which an individual feels tempted to consume large amounts of alcohol in specific, high-risk situational contexts. This measurement is specifically targeted at understanding and predicting motivations for heavy, episodic drinking patterns among young adults and other non-dependent populations.

By identifying the situational triggers that most strongly elicit the urge to drink heavily, the instrument provides crucial data for tailoring intervention strategies. It is frequently employed in research and clinical settings focused on prevention and harm reduction related to excessive alcohol consumption.

Construct

The underlying construct measured by the TTDI is the situational temptation to engage in heavy alcohol use. This construct is conceptualized as multifaceted, comprising four correlated yet distinct subscales reflecting major categories of drinking motivation, as replicated and refined from the original Migneault inventory.

The four specific domains (subscales) that constitute the overall situational temptation construct are:

• Peer Pressure: Temptation driven by social influence, encouragement, or being in environments where others are drinking heavily.
• Negative Affect: Temptation arising from internal emotional distress, such as feeling depressed, angry, anxious, or stressed.
• Positive/Social Situations: Temptation associated with celebratory feelings, excitement, happiness, or when things are going exceptionally well.
• Social Anxiety: Temptation to use alcohol to cope with feelings of shyness, nervousness, or anxiety regarding social interactions or intimate situations.

Validity

The short form TTDI demonstrated robust validity, confirming its ability to measure the intended construct effectively. The authors reported strong evidence of both internal and external validity, suggesting the 12-item scale is statistically comparable to the original, longer inventory.

Measures of external validity highlighted the scale’s practical utility, particularly its applicability within intervention and prevention programs targeting heavy drinking. High correlations between the TTDI short form and the original measures further support its concurrent validity, establishing the instrument as a reliable and efficient alternative.

Reliability

While specific internal consistency coefficients (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha) were not explicitly detailed in the provided source content, the psychometric evaluation confirmed that the short form was judged to be as “psychometrically valid” as the original measure. This implies that the instrument possesses acceptable levels of internal consistency and reliability across its four subscales and the global score, ensuring that the items consistently measure the underlying temptation domains.

Factor Analysis

The structural integrity of the TTDI was supported through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The CFA results indicated that the 12 items successfully load onto the four hypothesized latent factors: Peer Pressure, Negative Affect, Positive/Social, and Social Anxiety. This analysis confirmed the dimensional structure, validating the short form’s conceptual framework, which was derived by reducing and replicating the factor structure of the original Migneault scale.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire, Situational Temptation Scale

Format: 12 items utilizing a 5-point Likert-type scale

Language Available: English (Primary publication language)

Population Group: Non-dependent drinkers

Age Group: Typically utilized with adult populations, particularly college students or young adults engaging in heavy, episodic drinking.

Population Details: The authors explicitly note that the instrument was developed and validated on non-dependent drinkers. Caution is advised, and further psychometric validation is required before using the TTDI with clinically dependent populations.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate how tempted they are to drink a lot across 12 specified situations. Scores can be summed to compute a global temptations scale score. Additionally, scores can be separated and summed for the four individual subscales (Peer Pressure, Negative Affect, Positive/Social, Social Anxiety) for more detailed diagnostic information.

Keywords

Situational drinking, Alcohol assessment, Addiction prevention, Confirmatory factor analysis, Psychological testing, Substance abuse, Social anxiety, Internal consistency

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source

Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified in source

Correspondence Address: Not specified in source

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: Standard academic research permissions apply; users should contact the primary author, Maddock, J. E., for formal usage permissions.

Fee: Not specified in source; typically free for academic use.

Test Year: 1999 (Year of primary publication detailing the short form).

Reference’s

Maddock, J. E., Laforge, R. G., & Rossi, J. S. (1999). Short Forms of a Situational Temptations scale For Heavy, Episodic Drinking. Journal of Substance Abuse, 11, 281-288.

Maddock, J. E., Laforge, R. G., & Rossi, J. S. (2000). Short Forms of a Situational Temptations scale For Heavy, Episodic Drinking. Journal of Substance Abuse, 11, 281-288.

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Items of the Temptations to Drink Instrument

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Listed below are situations that can lead some people to drink a lot or more than they should. Select the answer that best corresponds to how tempted you are to drink a lot in the following situations

• 1. Not at all Tempted
• 2. Not Very Tempted
• 3. Somewhat Tempted
• 4. Very Tempted
• 5. Extremely Tempted

1. When I am excited
2. When I am with others who are drinking a lot
3. When I am really happy
4. When I am feeling depressed
5. When other people encourage me to have a drink
6. When I am very anxious and stressed
7. When I am offered a drink by someone
8. When I am feeling angry
9. When things are going really well for me
10. When I am anxious about sex
11. When I am feeling shy
12. When I am nervous about being socially outgoing

Scores from these 12 items can be summed to compute a global temptations scale.

Four subscales exist for this scale:

• Peer Pressure: Items 2, 5, 7
• Negative Affect: Items 4, 6, 8
• Positive/Social: Items 1, 3, 9
• Social Anxiety: Items 10, 11, 12

Note: This instrument has been developed on non-dependent drinkers and should not be used with dependent populations until further psychometric validations have been conducted.