Level of agreement between questionnaire measures of alcohol dependence, alcoholism and problem drinking in a sample presenting at a specialist alcohol treatment service.

Two questionnaire measures of the alcohol dependence syndrome, one of alcoholism, and one of alcohol-related problems were compared in a sample of 101 subjects attending a specialist alcohol treatment unit. There was substantial agreement between the two measures of alcohol dependence, and lesser agreement between any other pairing. The measures of alcohol dependence also showed the strongest correlation with reported weekly alcohol consumption. The findings are compared with previous research, and the suitability of the various questionnaires as case-defining instruments in empirical investigations is discussed.