The authors have developed the Alcohol Poly-Diagnostic Interview, which
permits the operationalization of the 10 leading definitions of alcoholism
used in the United States and Europe. In a pilot study of 23 patients in an
outpatient alcohol treatment facility, all patients were identified as
alcoholic by seven of the diagnostic schemes; the other three diagnostic
schemes identified at least 78% of the patients as alcoholic. The authors
also found that the Diagnostic Interview Schedule was sensitive to the
diagnosis of alcoholism among treated patients. This approach should
facilitate further research into the relationship among various definitions
of alcoholism and studies of their validity.
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