Beechem Risk Inventory for Late-Onset Alcoholism

Abstract

This group study features an at-risk inventory administered to ninety-six respondents. The principle purposes of this study were: 1) to design 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 addressed in the treatment phase. For each of the loss items, the respondent indicates whether the loss occurred at “(A) Age Fifty-Four and Younger” or “(B) Age Fifty-Five and Older.” The respondent also subjectively 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 feature of the inventory illustrates a simplified procedure to compute the respondent's unresolved loss-grief level through use of a 5-point Likert scale.