Continuous measures of alcohol problem severity include many widely-used scales, such as the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ) (Stockwell et al., 1979), the Alcohol Dependence Scale (ADS) (Skinner and Allen, 1982), the Addiction Dependence Data and Short Alcohol Dependence Data scales (Raistrick et al., 1983), the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) (McLellan et al., 1980), the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) (Saunders et al., 1993), and the Leeds Dependence Questionnaire (Raistrick et al., 1994). The reliability and internal consistency of these scales have been documented extensively in clinical and general population samples. Their concurrent and convergent validity have been established in comparisons with other severity scales and/or alcohol dependence screeners (Butler et al., 2009; Daeppen et al., 1995; Thomas and McCambridge., 2008), alcohol consumption patterns and biomarkers (Donovan et al., 2006; Read et al., 2007; Thomas and McCambridge, 2008; Wood et al., 2003), psychological functioning and social adjustment (Butler et al., 2009; Lima et al., 2005), and treatment goals and progress (Donovan et al., 2006).
