Chunk #7 — Measurement invariance of DSM-IV alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine dependence between community-sampled and clinically over-selected studies — The current study
Applying a factor model to these data to test measurement invariance across sex- and sample-defined groups enables us to explicitly test the assumption that these DSM dependence criteria apply equally well (from a psychometric perspective) to epidemiological and clinically over-selected samples. Because research often seeks to generalize findings between different populations, we must establish that DSM criteria measure the same constructs in the same way across different samples. This has not, to our knowledge, been established for DSM substance dependence criteria across clinical and community samples and is the primary aim of the current research.
