[Factor structure of the Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES) in alcohol dependent outpatients].

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability and factor structure of the Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES), version 8, a 19-item self-reported instrument developed to measure readiness to change in alcohol-dependent alcoholics. METHODS A Confirmatory Factor analysis of the SOCRATES was performed based on the factor structures previously demonstrated by Miller & Tonigan and Maisto et al. in a sample with 326 alcohol-dependent outpatients. The questionnaire was translated into Portuguese, cross-culturally adapted and back-translated into English. During this process SOCRATES underwent some modifications to simplify some complex question formats. RESULTS The analysis showed that two correlated factors provided the best fit for the data and that these were similar to Maisto et al.'s factors. CONCLUSIONS There was less evidence to support a three-factor structure. The results are compared to previous studies and the reasons for discrepancies are discussed.