Agreement between alcoholics and relatives when reporting follow-up status.

Forty-five patients and their relatives were interviewed by telephone regarding their posttreatment status. Questions were asked concerning such areas as drinking, health, employment, family relationships, legal trouble, and AA involvement. In 80% of the cases, there was almost exact agreement between the alcoholic and his relative in all areas. In the remaining cases, the relative described the alcoholic as engaging in excessive drinking and disruptive behavior while the alcoholic denied or minimized these behaviors. The discrepancy between the alcoholic's and the relative's report varied according to area asked about.