title: Client attitudes toward alcohol use self-report.
abstract: Because psychiatric illnesses and problematic alcohol use frequently co-occur and heavy alcohol use can exacerbate depression and anxiety, mental health clinicians should perform alcohol-use screenings. The aim of this study was to determine if psychiatric patients would be accepting of their mental health clinician screening them for heavy alcohol use. Using a written survey, patients rated their levels of agreement with 9 statements regarding opinions about alcohol screening by their mental-health providers. They also completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-C (AUDIT-C), a screening instrument for heavy alcohol use. One hundred fifty-four patients were surveyed in 2 psychiatric outpatient clinics. Nearly 40% screened positively for heavy alcohol use on the AUDIT-C. Nearly 8 out of 10 psychiatric patients were in favor of being screened for alcohol use by either self-report or biomarkers, independent of AUDIT-C status and gender. Thus, mental health clinicians should not be deterred from alcohol screening by perceived negative attitudes from patients.
authors.affiliation: Charleston Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, USA. booksw@musc.edu
authors.forename: Sarah W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Book
authors.forename: Suzanne E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Scott H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D001290:Attitude; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000523:psychology*; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications; D008875:Middle Aged; D011570:Psychiatry; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires