Concepts and items in measuring social harm from drinking

Social epidemiological traditions of asking about problems related to drink ing are considered. The issue of the attribution of the problem to drinking , and variations in formulations concerning this, are discussed. Social pro blems from drinking are inherently properties of social interactions, so th at they are composed both of behaviour deemed problematic and of a reaction by another. Most items measuring social harm asked of the drinker him/hers elf are concerned with major social roles, and problems in the particular l ife area of the role (work, family, friendships, etc.). Some ask the respon dent to attribute the problems to alcohol, some ask about others' attributi ons to alcohol, and some ask about "objective" problem indicators, although these usually have the respondent's attribution to drinking built in. The possibility of a more systematic way of covering different aspects of inter actional problems, as reported by the drinker, is considered. Traditions of questioning the person on the other side of the interaction - i.e., items about others' troubles with drinking, and the effect of these on the respon dent - are also discussed, and possibilities for bringing questions asked o f the drinker and questions asked of interacting others into the same frame are considered. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.