Heat maps: a technique for classifying and analyzing drinking behavior.

Heat maps are presented here as an innovative technique for evaluating longitudinal drinking outcomes. The Life Transitions Study followed alcohol dependent individuals for 2.5 years during 2004-2009 in a Midwestern city (N = 364). The TimeLine Follow-Back obtained drinking information. Heat map results were compared with those obtained using growth mixture modeling. Heat map classes differed significantly on baseline clinical and demographic indicators. Data were gathered with support from NIAAA R01AA014442.