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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Jun 1.
Published in final edited form as: Drug Alcohol Depend. 2012 Dec 1;130(0):167–177. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2012.11.002

Table 3.

Calibrated Alcohol Use Items

Item Stem Slope
(Discrimination)		 Location Thresholds
Never vs.
Rarely		 Rarely vs.
Sometimes		 Sometimes vs.
Often		 Often vs.
Almost always
I had trouble controlling my drinking* 4.70 0.43 0.84 1.33 1.75
I had trouble stopping drinking when I wanted to 4.17 0.51 0.91 1.37 1.86
It was difficult to get the thought of drinking out of my mind* 3.85 0.46 0.92 1.45 1.90
It was difficult for me to stop drinking after one or two drinks* 3.76 0.23 0.65 1.17 1.58
I felt I needed help for my drinking 3.62 0.71 0.94 1.34 1.79
I spent too much time drinking* 3.22 0.24 0.85 1.49 2.00
I drank more than planned* 3.18 −0.09 0.52 1.30 1.88
I had an urge to continue drinking once I started 3.07 −0.16 0.34 1.02 1.58
I drank too much* 3.03 0.00 0.74 1.50 2.02
I drank because I was lonely 2.94 0.44 0.82 1.52 2.04
I drank because I was angry with myself 2.92 0.63 1.11 1.73 2.28
I drank because I was bored 2.87 0.18 0.63 1.41 2.09
I drank heavily at a single sitting* 2.85 −0.02 0.70 1.46 2.08
I had cravings for alcohol 2.80 0.09 0.65 1.43 2.07
I drank because I was sad 2.78 0.33 0.78 1.51 2.13
I drank because I was depressed 2.71 0.27 0.72 1.42 2.03
I had urges to drink 2.67 −0.19 0.53 1.33 2.12
I drank because I had nothing to do 2.63 0.27 0.73 1.49 2.19
I drank because someone made me angry 2.61 0.46 0.95 1.80 2.29
I drank because I was irritable 2.57 0.33 0.83 1.63 2.27
I drank because I was nervous 2.55 0.39 0.90 1.71 2.29
I drank because I was annoyed 2.51 0.33 0.90 1.72 2.42
I felt that I should cut down on my drinking 2.48 0.18 0.65 1.35 1.86
I finished several drinks fast to get a quick effect 2.47 0.17 0.76 1.47 2.04
I drank throughout the day 2.47 0.54 1.13 1.78 2.28
I became drunk or intoxicated 2.33 −0.03 0.96 1.52 1.87
I spent a whole weekend drinking 2.26 0.77 1.27 1.62 1.93
On a typical day when I drank alcohol, I had…1 2.11 0.12 0.91 1.54 2.14
I drank because I felt tense 1.98 0.00 0.60 1.67 2.48
The largest number of drinks that I had in a single day was…1 1.92 −0.61 0.17 0.78 1.34
I used alcohol and other drugs together, to get high 1.81 0.40 0.86 1.59 2.28
In a typical week, I drank…2 1.74 0.63 1.27 1.79 2.31
I drank because I had physical pain 1.69 0.76 1.26 2.12 2.99
I drank when I was alone 1.52 −0.12 0.53 1.42 2.17
I drank when I arrived at home 1.48 −0.16 0.52 1.59 2.36
I drank because I deserved it 1.30 0.07 0.77 2.13 2.95
I drank at the end of a busy day 1.24 −0.99 −0.12 1.44 2.63
1

Response options = 1–2 drinks; 3–4 drinks; 5–6 drinks; 7–10 drinks; More than 10 drinks

2

Response options = 1–7 drinks; 8–14 drinks; 15–21 drinks; 22–28 drinks; More than 28 drinks

Note. Items are rank-ordered on the basis of their slope (discrimination) parameters.

Items included in the short form are marked with an asterisk.