Our findings stand in contrast to an earlier study of gender differences in alcohol criteria endorsement among alcohol-dependent COGA participants (Schuckit et al., 1998). While the current study found that women with DUIs endorsed items indicating greater severity more frequently than similar men, the previous study found just the opposite among all alcohol dependent individuals. For example, Schuckit et al. (1998) found that more men than women reported periods of time dominated by drinking, but the current study found that women with multiple DUIs were more likely to report this than men. The same pattern was true for unsuccessful attempts to quit and for items about negative consequences of drinking, such as problems with family or friends. Regarding measures of physiological dependence, the current study found that women with multiple DUIs were more likely to report tolerance to alcohol, withdrawal, and alcohol-related seizures, whereas men endorsed these items more frequently in the earlier study (Schuckit et al., 1998). These differences indicate that even in a high-risk sample such as COGA, women with histories of DUI represent a severe alcohol dependence phenotype.
