BEECHEM RISK INVENTORY FOR LATE-ONSET ALCOHOLISM

This group study features an at-risk inventory administered to ninety- six respondents. The principle purposes of this study were: 1) to desi gn a ''user-friendly'' assessment tool to identify elderly persons who may be at risk for drinking problems and/or late-life alcoholism; and 2) to identify unresolved loss-grief issues that will need to be addr essed in the treatment phase. For each of the loss items, the responde nt indicates whether the loss occurred at ''(A) Age Fifty-Four and You nger'' or ''(B) Age Fifty-Five and Older.'' The respondent also subjec tively indicates the extent to which he/she feels the intensity of the loss at the moment (i.e., in the ''here and now''). An additional fea ture of the inventory illustrates a simplified procedure to compute th e respondent's unresolved loss-grief level through use of a 5-point Li kert scale.