title: Cross-Cultural Validity in Self-Reported Alcohol Use.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Little evidence is available on whether respondents from divergent sociocultural populations report alcohol consumption in systematically similar ways. Therefore, this study examined whether the validity of self-reported alcohol use differed between Arab and Jewish Israeli pub patrons.
  
  
  METHODS
  The analytical sample consisted of 227 Arab and 900 Jewish Israeli pub patrons who were approached as they left pubs and asked to record their Breath Alcohol Content (BrAC) value and complete a questionnaire that probed into their alcohol use. Validity of self-reported alcohol use across the 2 groups was examined by testing the discrepancy in concordance between the self-reported number of drinks and BrAC scores through simple Pearson correlations and by performing a multi-group measurement invariance (MI) comparison.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Pearson correlation between the self-reported number of drinks and BrAC by the ethno-cultural group was almost identical across groups (Jews: r = 0.47, p < 0.01, df = 898; Arabs: r = 0.42, p < 0.01, df = 225). MI test results further confirmed that the factor loadings of the 2 drinking measures are similar across the 2 ethno-cultural groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-reported alcohol consumption gives cross-culturally valid and acceptable estimates of alcohol consumption in this sample of Israeli Arabs and Jews.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Sharon R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Sznitman
authors.forename: Shiran
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bord
authors.forename: Wafa
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Elias
authors.forename: Anat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gesser-Edelsburg
authors.forename: Yoram
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shiftan
authors.forename: Orna
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Baron-Epel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000208:ethnology*; D018912:Arabs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000379:methods; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007585:Jews / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Breath alcohol content; Cross-cultural; Naturalistic setting; Self-reports; Validity