A psychiatry attending (n = 40), a psychiatry resident (n = 30) and a medical student (n = 30) administered the SSQ, followed by a self-report 10-item Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) to a sample of 100 consultation-liaison patients who were able to give informed consent for participation.<h4 class=""h4"">Resultsh4>
Using the AUDIT as a reference, the sensitivity and specificity of the SSQ to detect harmful drinking in this sample were .96 and .82, respectively. Gender differences in specificity were not found. The single question also had a strong correlation with dependence (rb = .457, p < .001), and harmful use (rb = .620, p < .001) subscales of the AUDIT.<h4 class=""h4"">Conclusionh4>
The SSQ about past year heavy drinking can rapidly identify harmful drinking in alert nonpsychotic consultation-liaison patients.