Measurement Issues in the Assessment of Acute Changes in Responses to Alcohol

Acute changes in responses to alcohol may contribute to the development of problem drinking. Reliable and accurate measurement of such changes remains controversial. In addition, many studies of human responses to alcohol fail to control for changes that would occur simply as a result of the passage of time. The current study examined subjective stimulant effects of alcohol in 20 men who consumed 0.5g/kg on 3 consecutive days. Acute change in response was computed using the Mellanby absolute difference score (E. Mellanby, 1919), percent change, residualized change, and growth curves. The subjective ratings themselves showed high reliabilities, but the measures of acute change were markedly less reliable. Acute change also showed smaller correlations with previous alcohol consumption. The poor reliability of measures of acute change suggests that studies should focus on measures of responses themselves rather than changes in those responses.