COMPARISON OF QUESTIONNAIRE AND SELF-MONITORED REPORTS OF ALCOHOL INTAKE IN A NON-ALCOHOLIC POPULATION

Alcohol use assessment research focused in the past on alcoholic populations, making generalization of similar procedures to non-alcoholic samples questionable at best. In the present study, questionnaire and self-monitoring approaches were employed to measure alcohol consumption in a college student sample. Comparison of the two methods, with each other and with subjects' retrospective estimates of drinking, revealed considerable discrepancies. Implications of these findings are discussed with emphasis on research to determine and improve the validity of measurement of drinking behavior in non-alcoholics. © 1979.