Consumption indicators of alcohol dependence

Abstract

This Data Note evaluates various dichotomous measures of alcohol consumption as screeners for past-year alcohol dependence. The analysis is based on data from 22,102 current drinkers interviewed in the 1988 US National Health Interview Survey. The consumption indicators include measures of average daily intake, frequency of heavy drinking, usual quantity and frequency of drinking and various combinations of these measures. The measures based on frequency of heavy drinking are the most strongly correlated with dependence, but none of the consumption indicators have the sensitivity or specificity of screeners based on alcohol-related problems. Most of the consumption items considered in this analysis screen for dependence more successfully among men than among women.