The SSAGA Phase 2 study is a selected followup of the SSAGA 1 cohort with a longer instrument.

The version of the SSAGA instrument used in the SSAGA 2 study is known as the SSAGA-OZ. The SSAGA-OZ is an Australian adaptation of the SSAGA, incorporating additional sections from other interviews (SIFU, NSHS, and others). The shorter version of the SSAGA instrument used in the SSAGA 1 study is known as the Mini-SSAGA-OZ.

The SSAGA (Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism) is an instrument designed to assess physical, psychological and social manifestations of alcoholism and related disorders. It is a semi- structured interview which capitalises on prior research in psychiatric epidemiology. As such, it relies heavily on items previously validated by other research interviews, including DIS, CIDI, HELPER, SAM, SADS, and SCID.

The members of the COGA Assessment Committee are indebted to the many researchers who developed the interviews upon which, in part, the SSAGA is based.

In addition to SSAGA2, a different subset of the the SSAGA1 subjects was followed up with the SSAGA-OZ as part of Pam Madden's ABMRF Interview for Women study. This involved 521 families of whom 1033 indivisuals were eligible after removing some subjects due to ACTSTATs.

The SSAGA2 and ABMRF cohorts are completely distinct, ie there are NO subjects who are in both studies. For this reason