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To support the free and open dissemination of research findings and information on alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. To encourage open access to peer-reviewed articles free for all to view.

For full versions of posted research articles readers are encouraged to email requests for "electronic reprints" (text file, PDF files, FAX copies) to the corresponding or lead author, who is highlighted in the posting.

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Friday, July 4, 2008

Using the Timeline Followback to determine time windows representative of annual alcohol consumption with problem drinkers
Addictive Behaviors Volume 33, Issue 9, September 2008, Pages 1123-1130


When assessing individuals with alcohol use disorders, measurement of drinking can be a resource intensive activity, particularly because many research studies report data for intervals ranging from 6 to 12 months prior to the interview.

This study examined whether data from shorter assessment intervals is sufficiently representative of longer intervals to warrant the use of shorter intervals for clinical and research purposes.

The findings suggest that for aggregated reports of drinking and with large sample (e.g., surveys), a 1-month window can be used to estimate annual consumption. For individual cases (e.g., clinical use) and smaller samples, a 3-month window is recommended.

These results suggest that shorter time windows, which are more time and resource efficient, can be used with little to no loss in the accuracy of the data.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: shervin.vakili@calgaryhealthregion.ca
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