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Utility of the Self‐Administered Alcoholism Screening Test (SAAST) in Schizophrenic Patients
Author(s) -
Smith Cedric M.,
Pristach Cynthia A.
Publication year - 1990
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.1530-0277.1990.tb01228.x
Subject(s) - alcohol abuse , psychiatry , denial , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , alcohol , alcohol dependence , psychology , medicine , clinical psychology , biochemistry , chemistry , psychoanalysis
The utility of the Self‐Administered Alcoholism Screening Test (SAAST) in determining alcohol abuse and alcoholism was assessed in a preliminary study of 21 schizophrenic patients during their hospitalization in an acute care psychiatric unit; on admission all met DSM‐III‐R criteria for schizophrenia and none were detected to have any alcohol‐related diagnosis. SAAST scores ranged from 2 to 26 with a mean score of 10.8. Forty‐eight percent (10/21) had SAAST scores greater than or equal to 10, indicating “probable alcoholism”; 62% (13/21) scored 8 or higher. Every patient with a SAAST score of 8 or higher also met DSM‐III‐R criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence on the basis of patient interview, independent chart reviews, and interviews of significant others. In contrast, only half (5/10) of the high SAAST scorers would actually admit to a problem with drinking during the extensive study interviews. Six SAAST items were found to be highly predictive of abuse or alcoholism; the SAAST had greater sensitivity than the interviews. Sixty‐two percent (8 of 13) of the schizophrenic patients who met the DSM‐III‐R criteria for alcohol abuse reported a first degree relative with an alcohol‐related problem, in contrast to only 25% of the “nonalcoholic” patients. The patterns of the alcoholic schizophrenic patients' responses on the different SAAST items revealed even greater denial and lack of insight than those of nonschizophrenic alcoholic subjects.