Daily Life Assessment of Seven Alcohol-Use-Disorder Symptoms

Abstract

Understanding how alcohol-use-disorder (AUD) symptoms unfold in daily life is key to improving assessment and intervention. In this study, we examined the retrospective and prospective validity of repeated daily assessments of AUD symptoms compared with retrospective self-reports. A community sample of young adults (N = 496) completed daily reports over an 8-week period assessing a subset of AUD symptoms: hazardous use, social/occupational problems, failure to fulfill obligations, craving, tolerance, larger/longer consumption, and time spent obtaining/using alcohol. Retrospective self-reports were collected at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Several symptoms (e.g., hazardous use, social/occupational problems, time spent) showed strong convergence between daily and baseline reports, and others (e.g., craving, tolerance) showed weaker associations. Daily symptom totals predicted 6-month retrospective AUD severity, particularly for symptoms with greater convergence. Daily measures of total AUD symptoms were associated with both baseline and follow-up AUD severity. Findings support the value of daily assessment and underscore discrepancies in retrospective recall.