Family history of problem drinking among young male social drinkers: reliability of the Family Tree Questionnaire.

The test-retest reliability of the Family Tree Questionnaire to detect drinking problems of family members was examined in a sample of 60 male volunteer university undergraduates. The Questionnaire was completed twice. The first occasion employed a group administration procedure, and an average of 4 months later it was readministered on an individual basis. Thus the length of time and the different administration procedures provided an extreme test of the reliability of the Questionnaire. Test-retest scores of the number of problem drinkers reported by a subject were significantly correlated for first degree and for second degree relatives. The reliability of the classification of an individual family member was also satisfactory. The Family Tree Questionnaire thus appears to be a potentially useful, reliable tool for assessing the incidence of problem drinkers within families of young male social drinkers.