ABSTRACT
Recent studies have revealed differences between men and women alcoholics in symptoms, consequences, and help-seeking behavior related to alcohol usage. Based on these findings, it was hypothesized that gender differences also would appear on alcohol screening instruments. The Self-Administered Alcoholism Screening Test (Colligan, Davis, & Morse, 1988: SAAST: Swenson & Morse, 1975) of 1,920 men and 1,775 women was subjected to a within-gender, principle-components, factor analysis with a varimax rotation. Gender differences at the component level were revealed. Men endorsed the "help-seeking for alcohol-related problems" component while women endorsed the "help-seeking for emotional problems" component. In addition, men expressed concern about receiving a psychiatric label while women expressed concern about receiving a drinker label. The results suggest that different items need to be used in screening women for alcohol-related problems.