The phenomenon of alcohol withdrawal has seldom been studied in subgroups of patients in withdrawal. We developed a rating scale for measuring alcohol withdrawal that we found to be reliable and valid. The scale, when applied to young (ages 21-33, N = 24) and elderly (ages 58-77, N = 26) groups of patients in alcohol withdrawal, indicated that the elderly group initially had a more severe withdrawal for which they received higher doses of chlordiazepoxide.