Measurement equivalence of short inventory of problems-revised across drug abusing adult outpatient racial groups

The use of measures with different conceptual meanings across racial/ethnic groups may render treatment outcome analyses invalid. Conclusions drawn from invalid findings may lead to ineffective treatments and health policy initiatives, potentially worsening health disparities between racial and ethnic groups. In particular, analyses of the effectiveness of drug abuse treatments across racial/ethnic groups should ensure that outcome measures have the same conceptual meaning across groups so that disparities in treatment utilization and outcomes can be addressed. Different racial/ethnic groups may respond to item content of commonly used outcome measures in dissimilar ways due to (a) cultural differences across participants in norms and relevance of the constructs being assessed, (b) language of the measure, or (c) potential differences in participants' environments and opportunity structures to engage in certain behaviors or develop beliefs. Yet, few studies have reported measurement equivalence properties of widely used outcome measures across racial/ethnic groups.

This presentation will discuss measurement equivalence analyses to determine whether African American and non-Latino White adult drug abuse outpatient participants, who participated in a randomized clinical trial investigating Motivational Enhancement Therapy in the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network, share a common understanding of the constructs measured by a widely-used drug abuse treatment outcome measure of adverse consequences of drug use: the Short Inventory of Problems – Revised.

By the end of this presentation, participants will understand the utility and application of measurement equivalence analyses. This knowledge will support valid research and help address health disparities across racial/ethnic groups.