Assessing alcoholic denial. Further examination of the Denial Rating Scale

The reliability, validity, and heuristic value of Goldsmith and Green's (J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 176:614-620, 1988) Denial Rating Scale (DRS) are examined in an inpatient treatment setting. This replication study includes 647 cases. The same strong relationship between clinical change and program completion as found by Goldsmith and Green is identified. An ordinal predictive validity for the DRS regarding program completion that was not found by Goldsmith and Green is also identified. Utility for improving patient treatment plans through DRS results is identified. The heuristic value of the DRS in helping an alcoholism counseling staff maintain treatment focus is discussed. It is recommended that treatment centers incorporate systematic assessment of denial over the course of treatment as a means to facilitate staff focus on the primacy of addiction.