EVALUATING MEASURES OF FAMILY HISTORY OF ALCOHOLISM - DENSITY VERSUS DICHOTOMY

Aims. Studies have used myriad measures of family history of alcoholis m (FH) making it difficult to compare them directly. Commonly used FH measures partition samples into the well known positive (FH+) and nega tive (FH-) dichotomy, although quantitative measures of density potent ially provide more information. A standard FH measure would facilitate between-study comparisons, The purpose of this study is to evaluate a quantitative FH measure, called Family History Density (FHD), that ha s theoretical and practical advantages over currently used measures. D esign. Logistic regression equations were estimated for FHD and six co mmonly used FH measures on alcohol dependence diagnosis, and two measu res of alcoholism severity (i.e, withdrawal and tolerance). Participan ts. Subjects recruited for studies (254 men and 97 women) completed a structured clinical assessment. Measurements. Alcoholism diagnosis and endorsement of tolerance or withdrawal symptoms were obtained using t he alcohol module from the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule III-R (D IS III-R). Family history of alcoholism was coded using the criteria f rom the Family Informant Schedule and Criteria (FISC). Findings. All F H measures were associated with alcohol dependence diagnosis, developm ent of tolerance and experiencing withdrawal symptoms in men. In women , only FHD and Parent were significantly associated with all three out comes. Conclusions. FHD is a good candidate to be a standard FH measur e because it is quantitative, based on familial relatedness and capabl e of accounting for significant variation in alcoholism diagnosis and two indices of alcoholism severity in men and in women.