title: Reliability of self-reports of alcohol use by community clients.
abstract: Eighty-five of 116 randomly selected clients receiving case management services at a comprehensive community mental health center responded anonymously to a survey questionnaire that included two measures of self-reported alcohol use: questions about frequency and quantity and a retrospective diary for reporting the number of drinks consumed daily in the preceding week. Forty-two patients reported using alcohol; consumption was higher among younger patients. A significant correlation was found between responses to the frequency-quantity questions and the information provided in the retrospective diary, indicating that self-reports of alcohol consumption are reasonably reliable for the clients studied. Future research is needed to establish the reliability and validity of self-reported alcohol and drug use in typical treatment settings.
authors.affiliation: South Shore Mental Health Center, Charlestown, RI.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: O'Hare
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Leduc
mesh_terms: D000341:Affective Disorders, Psychotic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012237:Rhode Island / Q000453:epidemiology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012650:Self Disclosure