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The Ability of a Self‐Administered Alcohol Screening Test (mSAAST) to Detect Future Excessive Alcohol Consumption in Persons on Methadone Maintenance
Author(s) -
Stimmel Barry,
Sturiano Victor,
Cohen Murry,
Korts David,
Hanbury Raymond,
Jackson George
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1982.tb04992.x
Subject(s) - medicine , alcohol , methadone maintenance , addiction , alcohol consumption , narcotic , methadone , randomized controlled trial , psychiatry , alcohol dependence , test (biology) , environmental health , biology , paleontology , biochemistry , chemistry
A modified Self‐Administered Alcoholism Screening Test (mSAAST) was prospectively administered to 625 narcotic addicts participating in a randomized clinical control trial to study its effectiveness in detecting future excessive alcohol consumption. At entry into the study, of 105 patients categorized as active alcoholics, 84 (80%) obtained a positive score on the mSAAST. of 77 patients initially identified as being at risk for developing alcoholism (potential alcoholics) by mSAAST scores, 31 (40%) subsequently developed characteristics of excessive alcohol consumption. Of the 321 patients classified as nonalcoholic by history as well as mSAAST score, a significantly lesser proportion (15%) developed characteristics of excessive alcohol consumption ( p <0.001). These findings suggest the mSAAST to be a useful adjunctive indicator of persons at risk of developing excessive consumption of alcohol. It is probable that the usefulness of the mSAAST extends beyond narcotic‐dependent populations and may be of value in identifying the potential for excessive alcohol consumption in other populations.