ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Page Count: 6

A Validation Study of the Influence of Alcohol on Handwriting
Stinson, MD
Document examiner, Indiana State Police, IN

(Received 29 March 1996; accepted 9 September 1996)

Abstract

The purposes of this article are to report experimental findings and to validate prior selected studies that examined handwriting comparisons and alcohol consumption. Subjects who participated in this experiment were given handwriting testing forms which were completed at assigned intervals throughout the testing period. The setting for the completion of the experiment was within a controlled environment with adult students attending the Breath Tests for Intoxication School for the use of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) instruments for law enforcement purposes. Handwriting data and pertinent information, BAC level and time, were recorded on the testing forms which were completed before, during, and after drinking. This study does not attempt to determine handwriting characteristics that can be predicted at various blood alcohol levels, but rather demonstrate, as noted in prior studies, if handwriting trends develop during or after the consumption of alcohol. The results of the handwriting comparisons, between and among test subjects, are discussed and applied to prior findings.

Keywords:
forensic science, questioned documents, handwriting, alcohol, validation

Paper ID: JFS14140J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS14140J
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