In summary, findings from the present study are consistent with the current literature in: their lack of support for the DSM-IV distinctions between abuse and dependence; the presence of a single dimension underlying these criteria; and the fact that the criteria are aligned along a continuum of problem severity. Both MIMIC and IRT analyses indicate that current assessments of tolerance, time spent, and hazard use introduce potential bias in the assessment of AUD, resulting in over-diagnosis for each of the age groups in this study, but particularly among adolescents. As noted earlier, the inclusion of direct effects in the MIMIC model had only a modest effect on model fit and did not appreciably change associations between the demographic factors and AUD. Future studies need to address specific effects of variations in symptom wording on criterion prevalence for age, gender, and race/ethnicity as well as distinctions between developmentally normative changes and pathological symptoms related to tolerance and time spent. As indicated by other investigators (Langenbucher et al., 2004; Martin et al., 2006; Saha et al., 2006), future research should continue to
