Alcoholism Screening Inventory: Replication of Reich and Extension

Summary This study is a replication and extension of an earlier study which generated a screening interview for alcoholism with computer assistance. Its goals were to assess the degree of concordant validation (agreement between screening interview decision and clinical diagnosis) and to test the validity of an exit‐path x seventy hypothesis. Fifty Veterans Administration Hospital patients on an Alcohol Treatment Unit were interviewed with a standardized 22–item inventory which included the eight items comprising the screening inventory. Eighty‐four per cent concordance of screening interview and clinical diagnosis was obtained. Fifty‐four per cent of the sample was identified with only two items (i.e., positive responses to morning drinking? and blackouts?). The exit‐path x severity hypothesis gained general support although the first two alcoholic exit‐paths showed considerable overlap. The screening inventory appeared to be an efficient instrument and is recommended for further use. It may lead to under diagnosis, especially with schizophrenic drinkers and episodic‐stress drinkers. Its validity as a prognostic device has yet to be tested.