Validity and Reliability of Alcoholics' Self-Reports of Use of Alcohol Submitted before and after Treatment

Abstract

The subjects were 239 alcoholics who participated in a treatment program for employed alcoholics. Reports on their drinking behavior were obtained at four points: immediately prior to treatment, and at 3, 6, and 12 mo. of the year following residential treatment. Four data sources were used: the subject, his spouse if any (133 were married), his therapist, and his work supervisor. The results indicated high agreement among all four sources on the subjects' drinking behavior, suggesting that any one of the four sources could provide adequate data for program evaluation. It was noted that return rates from all sources decreased during the follow-up year and that a higher proportion of subjects could be assessed by using several data sources.