A poly-diagnostic instrument, the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA) (Bucholz et al., 1994; Hesselbrock et al., 1999) was administered to probands and their families. The families that participated in the genetic phase of this study had at least three first degree relatives who met both lifetime DSM-IIIR criteria for alcohol dependence (American Psychiatric Association, 1987) and lifetime Feighner criteria (Feighner et al., 1972) for definite alcoholism. Further details of the ascertainment and assessment can be found elsewhere (Begleiter et al., 1995; Foroud et al., 2000; Reich et al., 1998).
