Measuring Alcohol Consumption: Psychosocial and Biochemical Methods - Hardcover

Litten, Raye Z.; Allen, John P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0896032310 ISBN 13: 9780896032316

Publisher: Humana Press Inc., 1992

Synopsis

The Importance of Measuring Alcohol Consumption To date, alcohol studies have attended far more to issues of alco­ hol dependence and the harmful consequences of drinking than to the level of alcohol consumption itself. This is, perhaps, not surprising since dependence on alcohol is believed to constitute a meaningful and distinct medical syndrome, regardless of the level of alcohol consumption associated with it (Edwards and Gross, 1976). Also, of society is generally more concerned with the adverse consequences drinking (e. g. , traffic fatalities, homelessness, health care and legal expenses, and academiclbehavioral problems in young drinkers), than with the quantity of alcohol actually consumed. Nevertheless, accurate assessment of alcohol usage is important in its own right in at least four contexts: 1. Evaluating the effectiveness of alcoholism and alcohol abuse treatment and prevention efforts. Such efforts include both applied evaluations of existing programs and formal, well-controlled efficacy studies on experimental interventions. These investigations require rigorous methodologies to assess outcomes precisely and contrast what may be quite subtle differences between programs and between pre­ treatment and posttreatment outcomes. Although these studies are usually characterized by the employment of multiple measures of success-including general improvements in social and physical functioning, reduction in degree of dependence, and resolution of problems directly resultant from drinking-it is by their assessment of changes in drinking behavior that they are potentially able to achieve the highest level of objectivity and exactitude.

About this title

Review

Measuring Alcohol Consumption ...is an excellent resource for all those interested, at either a research or clinical level, in alcohol use and misuse ...highly organized, cohesive, integrated and practical...This superbly organized, thorough, and readable book is highly recommended for all those who need to assess alcohol intake. -The Journal of Clinical Pathology

Synopsis

Most alcohol studies have focused on the issues of alcohol dependence and the harmful effects of drinking, rather than on the level of alcohol consumption itself. In Measuring Alcohol Consumption, Raye Litten and John Allen - renowned authorities in the field of alcohol studies - and their panel of experts demonstrate how the accurate assessment of alcohol usage is important in its own right. This is especially true in at least four contexts: evaluating the effectiveness of alcoholism and alcohol abuse treatment and prevention efforts assessing the level of alcohol consumption in screening for future alcohol-related behavioral and medical problems determining alcohol consumption - with or without collateral alcoholism - as a risk factor for many serious medical conditions the importance of monitoring alcohol use in ensuring public safety. Measuring Alcohol Consumption discusses a variety of techniques and approaches, including direct verbal and collateral accounts of drinking, complex and innovative biochemical indicators, methods of measuring drinking over an extended period of time, and procedures that measure relatively recent consumption.

Timely and thought-provoking, Litten and Allen's Measuring Alcohol Consumption constitutes the first comprehensive source on these new techniques. It is an invaluable guide for all concerned with the problems associated with alcohol use and abuse, at both the clinical and research levels.

Edition details

• Publisher: Humana Press Inc.
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0896032310
• ISBN 13: 9780896032316
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240