Bargiel, K.

Howell, D. N

Jacob, T.

Seilhamer, R. A

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Washington University School of MedicineDigital Commons@BeckerPosters 2005: Alcoholism and Comorbidity2005Reliability of lifetime drinking history amongalcoholic menT. JacobR. A. SeilhamerK. BargielD. N. HowellFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/guzeposter2005Part of the Medicine and Health Sciences CommonsThis Poster is brought to you for free and open access by the 2005: Alcoholism and Comorbidity at Digital Commons@Becker. It has been accepted forinclusion in Posters by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Becker. For more information, please contact engeszer@wustl.edu.Recommended CitationJacob, T.; Seilhamer, R. A.; Bargiel, K.; and Howell, D. N., "Reliability of lifetime drinking history among alcoholic men" (2005).Posters. Paper 8 Samuel B. Guze Symposium on Alcoholism.http://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/guzeposter2005/8    RELIABILITY OF LIFETIME DRINKING HISTORY AMONG ALCOHOLIC MEN  T. Jacob, R. A. Seilhamer, K. Bargiel,  & D. N. Howell  Grant Support: This study was supported by a Merit Review Grant (TJ) from the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Research Service, Washington, DC (TJ) and grant AA03037 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (TJ).   1    ABSTRACT    Objective:   Information regarding patterns and correlates of problem drinking over the life course is important for both clinical and research purposes although few retrospective, psychometrically adequate instruments of this kind are currently available.   In the current study, we report five year, test-retest reliabilities of the Lifetime Drinking History (LDH).       Method:   Analyses were based on a community sample of 49 male participants with a lifetime diagnosis  of alcohol dependence who were residing within intact families and who were not seeking treatment at time of initial assessment.    2     3 ABSTRACT   Results:    Moderate to moderate/high correlations were found for first drinking phase variables; last drinking phase variables; total drinking volume over the entire drinking career; and age at which regular drinking began.     Conclusions:   Overall, the LDH was found to reflect adequate stability over this long retest interval with results providing further support for the instrument’s psychometric strengths.    Limits on the generalizability of these findings are discussed.     4 PATTERNS OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION     Lifetime drinking patterns obtained prospectively are rare, making retrospective techniques necessary if such information is to be obtained.     Clinical Purposes  • Detailed data about onset, course, and problems associated with drinking can benefit assessment and treatment planning of alcohol use disorders (see McCrady & Epstein, 1999).   Research Purposes   •  Lifetime drinking data can contribute to understanding the heterogeneity in alcohol pathways and their psychosocial, psychiatric and biological correlates which can ultimately suggest prevention strategies, treatment paradigms, and public health policies relevant to alcohol related disturbances (Zucker, Fitzgerald, & Moses, 1995).       5  RETROSPECTIVE REPORTING  OF ALCOHOL USE  Two broad-based instruments utilizing retrospective methods have been developed:   ¾ Timeline Follow Back (TLFB) (Sobell, Maisto, Sobell, & Cooper, 1979; Sobell & Sobell, 1995)  Assessment of past drinking patterns through retrospective reporting period up to one year   ¾ Lifetime Drinking History (LDH) (Skinner & Sheu, 1982)  Assessment of drinking behaviors across lifetime    LIFETIME DRINKING HISTORY (LDH)   The LDH is a structured interview designed to identify patterns of alcohol use and problems during distinct drinking phases.   Respondents report on lifetime drinking behaviors from drinking onset to current date.   Information is gathered on:  ¾ Quantity ¾ Frequency  ¾ Type of beverage ¾ Context of drinking  (i.e. alone, bars) ¾ Precipitating events to changes in drinking  (i.e. school, work, family)    6     7PARTICIPANTS   Subjects were drawn from a larger sample of intact families with at least one child 10 - 18 years of age (Jacob, 1999; Jacob, Seilhamer, & Rushe, 1989)   ¾ Subsample of 49 alcoholics   ¾ Husband met criteria for alcoholism   DSM-IV Alcohol Dependence    Acknowledged difficulties in at least  3 of the 4 alcohol problem areas   AND  ¾ Alcoholic father had to be:  Currently drinking  Making no attempt to abstain   Not seeking or involved in treatment     8 METHODS  All participants completed 2 administrations of the LDH separated by a period of 5 years.   Data obtained from the LDH -  • Drinking Phases Reflecting:   - Significant changes in quantity and/or frequency of alcohol consumption    For data analyses purposes, minimum phase length was set at 6 months with the first phase beginning with the earliest age at which at least one alcoholic drink per month was consumed on a regular basis         9 TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY COEFFICIENTS FOR FIRST DRINKING PHASE                              Note: t-tests indicated no mean differences for any variables.           N  r  p         Quantity 49  .51  p<.05  Frequency 49  .46  p<.05  Quantity x Frequency Index 49  .40  p<.05  % of Time Drinking – Morning 49  -.03  ns  % of Time Drinking – Afternoon 49  .37  p<.05  % of Time Drinking – Evening 49  .15  ns  % of Time Drinking – Alone 49  .13  ns  % of Time Drinking – w/ Others 49  .04  ns  % of Time Drinking – in Home 49  .25  ns  % of Time Drinking – Bars 49  .53  p<.05  % of Time Drinking – Other Places 49  .53  p<.05  % of Alcohol Consumed – Beer 49  .59  p<.05  % of Alcohol Consumed – Wine 49  .57  p<.05  % of Alcohol Consumed – Liquor 49  .64  p<.05  Age regular drinking began 49  .68  p<.05             10TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY COEFFICIENTS FOR LAST DRINKING PHASE                                          Note: t-tests indicated no mean differences for any variables.  Note: t-tests indicated no mean differences for any variables.         N  r  p  Quantity       Frequency 49  .46  p<.05  Quantity x Frequency Index 49  .37  p<.05  % of Time Drinking – Morning 49  -.06  ns  % of Time Drinking – Afternoon 49  .50  p<.05  % of Time Drinking – Evening 49  .27  ns  % of Time Drinking – Alone 49  .48  p<.05  % of Time Drinking – w/ Others 49  .54  p<.05  % of Time Drinking – in Home 49  .52  p<.05  % of Time Drinking – Bars 49  .45  p<.05  % of Time Drinking – Other Places 49  .14  ns  % of Alcohol Consumed – Beer 49  .80  p<.05  % of Alcohol Consumed – Wine 49  -.05  ns  % of Alcohol Consumed – Liquor 49  .60  p<.05            11  TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY COEFFICIENTS  FOR DIFFERENT TARGET AGES                AGE 20  AGE 25  AGE 30  AGE 35  AGE 40 Drinking  Behavior n r  n r   n r   n r   n r                FREQUENCY 40 0.31  48 0.66**  49 0.55**  46 0.67**  29 0.71**                QUANTITY 40 0.18  48 0.46**  49 0.44**  46 0.33**  29 0.57**                QFI 40 0.33*  48 0.53**   49 0.46**   46 0.49**   29 0.65** *  p<.05 **p<.01 Note: t-tests indicated no mean differences for any variables.        12 DISCUSSION    Results indicated notable consistencies in alcoholics’ retrospective reports when interviews were conducted five years apart.    Moderate to moderate/high correlations between drinking variables    ¾ first drinking phase  ¾ last drinking phase  ¾ total drinking volume over the entire drinking career ¾ age at which regular drinking began   LIMITATIONS/FUTURE DIRECTIONS      13 1. Validity of Reports  Consistency in recall of drinking characteristics does not directly address the validity of these data.  -   Other corroboration of reports or comparison of retrospective reports with previous prospective reports would strengthen current findings  2.   Generalizability  Individuals may represent a better functioning sample of alcoholics than might be seen in other settings (i.e. treatment).  -   Further reliability assessments with different samples assessed in other contexts will help clarify conditions under which retrospective drinking data might be most and least compromised     14 REFERENCES   Jacob, T. (1999). "Adult Offspring of Alcoholism Discordant Twins. NIAAA Grant No. R01 AA11667 (1998-2002).  Jacob, T., Seilhamer, R. A., & Rushe, R. (1989). Alcoholism and family interaction: An experimental paradigm. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 15(1), 73-91.  McCrady, B. S. & Epstein, E. E. (Eds.). (1999). Addictions:  A comprehensive guidebook. New York: Oxford University Press.  Skinner, H. H., & Sheu, W. J. (1982). Reliability of alcohol use indices: Lifetime drinking history and mast. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 43, 1157-1170.  Sobell, L. C., Maisto, S. A., Sobell, M. B., & Cooper, A. M. (1979). Reliability of alcohol abusers' self-reports of drinking behavior. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 17, 157-160.  Sobell, L. C., & Sobell, M. B. (1995). Alcohol timeline followback users' manual. Toronto, Canada: Addiction Research Foundation.  Zucker, R. A., Fitzgerald, H. E., & Moses, H. D. (1995). Emergence of alcohol problems and the several alcoholisms: A developmental perspective on etiologic theory and life course trajectory. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Volume 2: Risk, disorder, and adaptation (Vol. 2, pp. 677-711). New York: Wiley.   

Reliability of lifetime drinking history among alcoholic men

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Reliability of lifetime drinking history among alcoholic men

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