The Alcadd Test as a Predictor of Post-Hospital Drinking Behavior

Abstract

The Alcadd test was used to measure response to inpatient treatment and try to predict 2-yr. post-hospital drinking behavior. Two years following discharge from a rehabilitation program, 352 male alcoholics who had been given the Alcadd test at admission and at discharge were separated into groups of abstainers, improved, unimproved, unclassified, and deceased. The groups showed: (a) similar admission means, (b) significantly dissimilar discharge means, and (c) significantly lowered discharge means. Younger subjects tended to give higher Alcadd admission scores, and older subjects were more likely to remain longer in treatment. Alcadd discharge scores correlated inversely with length of stay in treatment and with age. These discharge scores appear to have potential utility for predicting long-range post-hospital drinking behavior.