title: Validation of a new patient-reported outcome instrument of health-related quality of life specific to patients with alcohol use disorder: the Alcohol Quality of Life Scale (AQoLS).
abstract: The Alcohol Quality of Life Scale (AQoLS) is a new patient-reported outcome 34-item questionnaire measuring health-related quality of life (HRQOL), specific to patients with an alcohol use disorder, developed from the patients' perspective. This is the first report establishing evidence in support of measurement reliability and validity of the AQoLS.
  
  
  
  A total of 285 randomly selected patients receiving interventions for alcohol use disorder in addiction specialised care settings in France were included in the study (response rate 80.1 %). Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the hypothesised-during-development-stage dimensional structure of the AQoLS. Internal consistency of the total score and the dimensions subscores were assessed through Cronbach's alpha coefficients. Construct validity was tested through correlations with the Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) and EuroQol 5 dimensions (EQ-5D).
  
  
  
  Exploratory analysis indicated seven observed dimensions which differed slightly from the 7 dimensions defined a priori in the framework hypothesised during the scale development: activities, relationships, living conditions, negative emotions, self-esteem, control and sleep. A major common factor allows the summing of the 34 items to obtain a total score. All the 34 items were acceptable. Cronbach's alpha for the AQoLS total score was 0.96 and ranged from 0.8 to 0.9 for the dimensions subscores. Negative correlations between AQoLS and all dimensions of the SF-36, but general health and positive correlations between AQoLS and all items of the EQ-5D were shown. As expected, the correlations were mostly moderate in magnitude, low with scores referring to physical areas and the highest with the SF-36 MSC.
  
  
  
  This study provides evidence of the measure's psychometric properties in terms of construct validity and internal consistency. The "control" and "self-esteem" dimensions are of particular interest as these concepts are not captured in existing HRQOL. Further longitudinal validation of the scale is necessary to assess sensitivity to change.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, Paul Brousse Hospital, INSERM U1178, University of Paris Sud, APHP Villejuif, France. amandineluquiens@yahoo.fr.|Département de psychiatrie et d'addictologie, Hôpital Paul Brousse, Université Paris-Saclay, University of Paris-Sud, UVSQ, CESP, INSERM U 1178, APHP Villejuif, France. amandineluquiens@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Luquiens
authors.affiliation: RTI Health Solutions, The Pavilion, Towers Business Park, Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, Manchester, M20 2LS, UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Whalley
authors.affiliation: Claude Bernard Lyon I University, Villeurbanne, France.|Lundbeck S.A.S., Issy-les-Moulineaux Cedex, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Laramée
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, Paul Brousse Hospital, INSERM U1178, University of Paris Sud, APHP Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Falissard
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, Paul Brousse Hospital, INSERM U1178, University of Paris Sud, APHP Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kostogianni
authors.affiliation: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 2S1, Canada.|Addiction Policy, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, 6th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M7, Canada.|Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle, Room 2374, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 250 College Street, 8th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5T 1R8, Canada.|Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy and Center of Clinical Epidemiology and Longitudinal Studies (CELOS), Technische Universität Dresden, Chemnitzer Str. 46, 01187, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rehm
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy and Center of Clinical Epidemiology and Longitudinal Studies (CELOS), Technische Universität Dresden, Chemnitzer Str. 46, 01187, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Manthey
authors.affiliation: Department of Addiction, Medicine Faculty of Nancy, CHU of Nancy, Nancy, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Paille
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, Paul Brousse Hospital, INSERM U1178, University of Paris Sud, APHP Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Aubin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000071066:Patient Reported Outcome Measures; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012649:Self Concept; D000068356:Self-Control / Q000523:psychology; D012890:Sleep; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alcohol use disorder; Control; Psychometrics; Quality of life; Self-esteem; Validation