Client attitudes toward alcohol use self-report

Because psychiatric illnesses and problematic alcohol use frequently co-occur and heavy alcohol use can exacerbate depression and anxiety, mental health clinicians should perform alcohol-use screenings. The aim of this study was to determine if psychiatric patients would be accepting of their mental health clinician screening them for heavy alcohol use. Using a written survey, patients rated their levels of agreement with 9 statements regarding opinions about alcohol screening by their mental-health providers. They also completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-C (AUDIT-C), a screening instrument for heavy alcohol use. One hundred fifty-four patients were surveyed in 2 psychiatric outpatient clinics. Nearly 40% screened positively for heavy alcohol use on the AUDIT-C. Nearly 8 out of 10 psychiatric patients were in favor of being screened for alcohol use by either self-report or biomarkers, independent of AUDIT-C status and gender. Thus, mental health clinicians should not be deterred from alcohol screening by perceived negative attitudes from patients.