Web-based norms for the Drinker Inventory of Consequences from the Drinker's Checkup

Abstract 

To date, the only published norms for the Drinker Inventory of Consequences (DrInC) have come from a sample of heavy drinkers in Project MATCH (Matching Alcoholism Treatments to Client Heterogeneity) who were enrolling in a treatment program. We have generated an additional set of norms for the DrInC based on a large sample (N = 1,564) of heavy drinkers who have completed the DrInC as part of a Web-based brief motivational intervention, the Drinker's Checkup (DCU; www.drinkerscheckup.com). Although these drinkers were not seeking formal treatment, they were concerned enough about their drinking to pay $25 to use the DCU. Comparing the means and decile scores for lifetime and recent total scores and subscale scores between the DCU and MATCH samples revealed that DrInC scores for the DCU sample were significantly lower than the MATCH sample. These findings have implications for giving normative feedback using the DrInC with non-treatment-seeking populations. The use and limitations of these findings are discussed.

Keywords: Drinker inventory of consequences, Drinker's Checkup, Web