Subject-collateral reports of drinking in inpatient alcoholics with comorbid cocaine dependence

Greater substance abuse severity has been associated with less reliable sel f-reports of drinking in individuals with only an alcohol use disorder. In addition, individuals with multiple substance use disorders often report gr eater substance abuse severity. Therefore, it is important to be confident in the self-reports of substance use in individuals with multiple substance use disorders. Although there is considerable confidence in the use of col lateral reports as a measure of drinking in individuals with only a diagnos is of alcohol abuse or dependence, information about subject-collateral agr eement for individuals who meet the criteria for more than one substance us e disorder is lacking. In this study, we examined subject-collateral report s of substance abuse in individuals presenting for alcohol treatment who me t DSM-III-R criteria for alcohol and cocaine use disorder (n = 85). We then compared subject-collateral reports of those individuals to subject-collat eral reports for individuals with only a diagnosis of alcohol abuse or depe ndence (n = 99). Overall, the results demonstrate that self-reports of indi viduals with alcohol and cocaine use disorders are generally valid. The res ults revealed no significant differences between groups on measures of subj ect-collateral consistency for several alcohol use variables. However, a si gnificant difference was found for the number of days of drug use, with sub ject-collateral agreement being greater for individuals with an alcohol and cocaine use disorder. Additional analyses revealed that subject-collateral discrepancy scores were positively related to the participants' severity o f alcohol and drug dependence. Recommendations for enhancing the accuracy o f self-reports of drinking and drug use in alcoholics with comorbid cocaine use disorders are discussed.