The results of our DIF analyses (Figure 3) suggest that two dependence symptoms (Tolerance and Larger/Longer) display differences in severity between samples. These results are consistent with at least two alternative hypotheses. First, persons who are predisposed to alcohol problems may have a lower initial level of sensitivity and response to alcohol 39; thus, persons with severe problems may actually be experiencing (and thus reporting) these symptoms less than others. Alternatively, Tolerance and Larger/Longer may be more common in adolescents with limited drinking experience because they are developing pharmacological tolerance as their drinking progresses 4, 6. Teens do not typically report any desire to limit the amount or length of their alcohol consumption, and thus, endorse Larger only because they drank more than on previous occasions 4. In a sample of adults, Larger/Longer was the only dependence item that did not significantly relate to problem outcomes at 5-year follow-up 40. Consistent with prior evidence of the unreliability of this symptom, our results show that Larger/Longer is of much lower severity in adjudicated adolescents and also significantly different across community and
