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“it was felt that such items were too subtle for a simple inventory to cope with” (Stockwell et al. 1979 p. 80)
However, a number of studies demonstrated such strong correlations between the core elements of the alcohol dependence syndrome as measured by the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (Stockwell et al.1979) and measures of craving (Hodgson et al. 1978) and the priming effect of alcohol (Hodgson et al.1979), thought to be proxy measures of impaired control, that they have been used in support of the inclusion of loss of control as part of the syndrome. Stockwell et al. (1994) measured the correlation between alcohol dependence and impaired control more directly in a later study and concluded that, due to the strength of the correlations found, there was evidence for a unidimensional alcohol dependence syndrome which included loss of control as one of its components.
Using a combination of measures, namely the MAST, ADS and the CIDI-SAM cited above, Kahler et al. (1995) found that impaired control forms a component of a unidimensional alcohol dependence syndrome. Davidson et al. (1989) reached the same conclusion using the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Data (SADD) (Raistrick et al. 1983).
5.6 The measurement of impaired control
In the studies hitherto cited, impaired control has been measured as part of the dependence syndrome (for example Raistrick et al. 1983, 1994; Skinner and Allen 1982; Chick 1980a), using either self completion questionnaires or structured interview format, as part of a measurement of alcoholism or alcohol related problems (for example Cottler et al. 1989; Selzer 1971), or by a proxy measure using a single question (Hodgson et al. 1979). Writing in 1993, Heather et al. noted that:
“ Impaired control over drinking has occupied a central place in explanations of alcohol dependence since the late 18th century. Despite this key theoretical role, no instrument has been developed to directly assess the construct” (Heather et al. 1993 p. 700)
The following year Stockwell et al. (1994) published the revised version of the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ-C) for use in community samples and with it a five item self completion impaired control scale, the Impaired Control Questionnaire (ICQ). Items refer
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