Brief screening instruments for alcoholism.

348 ALCOHOL HEALTH & RESEARCH WORLD Numerous studies have demonstrated that many problem drinkers (i.e., people who fulfill the diagnoses of harmful drinking, alcohol abuse, or alcohol dependence) can benefit from brief physician interventions at the time of a clinic visit or from referral for alcoholism treatment (Buchsbaum 1994). To identify problem drinkers in clinical and primary care settings, researchers have developed several screening instruments, most of them short questionnaires that can be administered by a physician or self-administered by the patient. This article reviews some of these instruments as well as their effectiveness in identifying problem drinkers in primary care settings, such as emergency rooms (ER’s).