Timeline Follow-Back

Although the measurement of drinking is necessary for assessing and evaluating the treatment of alcohol problems, this key dependent variable has not always been reported in outcome studies.1–3 Today, the issue is not whether to measure drinking, but how to measure drinking. Concerns about how best to measure drinking patterns and problems date back to at least 1926, when Pearl stressed the importance of separating steady daily drinkers from occasional heavy drinkers.4