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- Title
Identifying Risk Drinking in Expectant Fathers.
- Authors
Chang, Grace; McNamara, Tay; Orav, E. John; Wilkins-Haug, Louise
- Abstract
Background: Identification of risk drinking in expectant fathers may be helpful as an important part of efforts to minimize maternal alcohol use, and as an opportunity to inform them about a problematic practice during a critical developmental stage for the couple. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the T-ACE screening questionnaire, which asks about t olerance to alcohol, being a nnoyed by other's comments about drinking, attempts to c ut down, and having a drink first thing in the morning (“ e ye-opener”), in the male partners of pregnant women who themselves were T-ACE positive. Methods: Two hundred fifty-four male partners were asked to complete the T-ACE embedded in a health survey, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and other questions about their alcohol use in the past 30 days when their pregnant partners had a median gestation of 11.5 weeks (T1). After delivery, male partners again completed the T-ACE and quantity-frequency questions (T2). The predictive ability of the T-ACE and AUDIT was compared, using risk drinking (>4 drinks/day or >14 drinks/week) as the criterion standard. Results: A substantial minority of male partners had risk drinking, 31 percent at T1 and 25 percent at T2. Although the AUDIT was better than the T-ACE as an independent predictor of risk drinking, the latter was most accurate when the tolerance threshold exceeded 2 drinks, the same established for pregnant women. The sensitivity (T1 = 84.6%, T2 = 82.8%) and specificity (T1 = 43.8%, T2 = 51.1%) of the T-ACE at this threshold compared favorably with those of the AUDIT at the standard cut point of 8. Conclusions: The T-ACE may be a practical way for clinicians to identify risk drinking in both pregnant women and expectant fathers. (BIRTH 33:2 June 2006)
- Subjects
ALCOHOL drinking; ALCOHOLISM risk factors; PREGNANT women; DRINKING behavior; HEALTH surveys; RESEARCH
- Publication
Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care, 2006, Vol 33, Issue 2, p110
- ISSN
0730-7659
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.0730-7659.2006.00093.x