difficult to interpret the severity associated with any single symptom item because two positive symptoms are required to satisfy the DSM-IV conceptualization of withdrawal as a syndrome. Other criteria marked by a fairly wide range of symptom severity include impaired control and hazardous use. Since the proportions of individuals endorsing the less severe symptoms of these criteria greatly outweighed those endorsing the more severe symptoms, it can be seen why the overall severity rankings of these criteria were relatively low. At the same time, the data indicate that these criteria have the potential to represent far more severe alcohol problems.
