Search

Objective: A recent study comparing the Quick Drinking Screen (QDS) with the Timeline Followback (TLFB) found that in a nonclinical population of problem drinkers both measures produced reliable summary measures of drinking. The current study was designed to replicate these findings with a clinical population of alcohol abusers. The data were collected over three years (2004-2006). Method: Participants were 124 alcohol abusers who voluntarily enrolled for outpatient treatment. Over half (52.4%) were female with an average age of almost 40 years. About a third were married, had completed university, and a quarter were unemployed and nonwhite. Participants reported having a drinking problem for an average of 8.3 years, and reported drinking on about 5 days per week, averaging six drinks per drinking day. On two different occasions, they responded to two different sets of questions about their alcohol use. The instruments were: (a) the Quick Drinking Screen (QDS), a summary drinking measure, administered by telephone prior to the assessment; and (2) the TLFB self-administered by computer at the assessment. Results: As in a previous study, this study found that the QDS and the TLFB, two very different drinking measures, collected similar aggregate drinking data for four drinking variables in a clinical sample of alcohol abusers. Conclusions: When it is not necessary or not possible to gather detailed drinking data, the QDS produces reliable brief summary measures of drinking for problem drinkers. Generalization to nonclinical samples awaits further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many people recover from substance-use associated problems on their own, little is known about this phenomenon. The paper had two objectives: to use a new research method, computer-assisted content analysis, to understand alcohol and drug abusers' perceived reasons for self-change and to undertake a comparative evaluation across substances and cultures to validate previous findings about subjective appraisal processes. Three studies of natural recoveries of alcohol and drug abusers in two countries conducted tape-recorded interviews with 216 respondents. The taped responses were coded based on a content analytic dictionary approach using a computerized content analysis program. All three studies found several processes mediating the decision to change substance use. The computer content analysis confirmed a cognitive appraisal process regardless of the cultural setting or substance. The findings suggest that several procedures might have benefit in clinical interventions. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts section of this issue.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the psychometric characteristics of two major assessment instruments used in a World Health Organization (WHO) clinical trial: (a) Alcohol Timeline Followback (TLFB, which assesses daily drinking patterns), and (b) Inventory of Drinking Situations (IDS, which assesses antecedents to “heavy” drinking). Clients (N=308) were outpatient alcohol abusers from four countries (Australia, Canada, Mexico, and Sweden). Generally, the Alcohol TLFB and IDS were shown to be reliable and valid with outpatient alcohol abusers in four countries, and in three languages. These results suggest that the Alcohol TLFB and the IDS can be used in clinical and research settings with Swedish-, Spanish-, and English-speaking alcohol abusers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]