Drinking problems of alcoholics: correspondence between self and spouse reports.

The present study examined the level of agreement between alcoholics and their wives on a variety of drinking-related behaviors. The self-report of alcoholics on the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) was compared with a parallel version completed by the wives concerning their husbands' behaviors. The couples evidenced a high level of agreement with respect to the Total MAST score as well as to the Helpseeking subscale. The Recognition of Alcohol Problems subscale manifested relatively lower levels of agreement. Alcoholics tended to under-report on this scale relative to their wives and maintain that they were normal drinkers.