Gender differences were analyzed in a sample of 233 (83 women, 150 men) problem drinkers treated at the same clinic. Demographic and family history measures showed few gender differences. Men reported more alcohol consumption than did women, but patterns of drinking and intoxication levels were similar. Males reported drinking and intoxication at an earlier age, more beer and less wine drinking and more drinking away from home and driving after drinking. Women reported more negative emotional effects of drinking and more spouses with alcohol problems. Despite similar problem duration, men showed more lifetime alcohol problems but not dependence signs. Men were more likely to accept a disease concept of alcoholism. Rates of smoking, other drug use, and other life problems were similar.

There is as yet no consensus regarding how best to quantify alcohol consumption as an outcome measure in treatment research. Two commonly used methods were compared: the timeline follow-back procedure which reconstructs daily drinking via a calendar, and the grid averaging method employed in the Drinker Profile system. A sample of outpatients being treated for alcoholism was interviewed using both approaches. Similar, though not identical, consumption patterns were obtained with each measure accounting for approximately half of the variance in the other. The relative advantages of these two assessment approaches are considered.