The study recruited patients seeking treatment for alcoholism; these participants are referred to as probands. Subsequently, the study also recruited the probands’ family members for further evaluation. The assessment of these families took place in two stages. During the first stage, both the probands and their family members completed extensive interviews that allowed the investigators to determine whether participants met the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence. To be classified as alcohol dependent, participants had to meet both the diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised (American Psychiatric Association [APA] 1987) and the Feighner definite criteria for alcoholism (Feighner et al. 1972). Other behaviors, including smoking behaviors, also were assessed during the first stage. This allowed researchers to examine the relationship between alcohol dependence and smoking among family members.
