Development and Validation of the Cheers Attitudes towards Non-drinkers Scale (CANS)

• Published in: Journal of health psychology 2024-09, Vol.29 (10), p.1101-1114
• Main Authors: Cheers, Christopher, Pennay, Amy, de la Piedad Garcia, Xochitl, Callinan, Sarah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Alcohol Drinking - psychology; Alcohol use; Attitudes; Australia; Confirmatory factor analysis; Exploratory factor analysis; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Full Length; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Psychometrics - instrumentation; Reliability; Reproducibility of Results; Social Stigma; Stigma; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1359-1053; 1461-7277; 1461-7277
• DOI: 10.1177/13591053231220519

Non-drinkers report experiencing stigma, which can act as a barrier to non-drinking. Two studies were undertaken to develop and test a new scale to measure attitudes towards non-drinkers. In Study 1, 29 items were presented to 426 Australian drinkers. In Study 2, the refined 12-item Cheers Attitudes to Non-drinkers Scale (CANS) was presented to 389 drinkers. Alcohol consumption, Harm and the Regan Attitudes towards Non-drinkers Scale (RANDS) were presented for scale validation. Exploratory factor analysis revealed three factors representing the Threats to Fun, Connection and Self that drinkers perceive non-drinkers to pose. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the scale meets the required fit indices and had good reliability (α = 0.842). Evidence of validity was shown through significant correlations with Alcohol Consumption, Harm and the RANDS. These studies show the CANS to be a reliable and valid measure that could be utilised to understand and modify the stigma experienced by non-drinkers.