Abstract
Women with an alcoholic spouse may not be able to clearly identify alcoholism if they have no knowledge of symptoms. It may be difficult to identify alcoholism in the military culture, where heavy drinking is a social norm. The purpose of this descriptive pilot study was to determine women's ability to recognize pathological use of alcohol, using a sample of 49 military wives visiting the obstetrics/gynecology clinic of Madigan Army Medical Center at Ft. Lewis, Washington. Given a cluster of symptoms, women correctly identified an alcohol problem 31–80% of the time. The type of symptoms presented may have influenced their responses. The results also suggest an emphasis on relationship issues when determining the severity of a drinking problem. Lack of knowledge rather than a personal pathology may be a factor preventing wives from recognizing alcoholism in a spouse. These women may be better served by their own definitions of alcoholism than by the medical diagnostic criteria or the cultural norms.