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An evaluation of Type A and B alcoholics
Author(s) -
SCHUCKIT MARC A.,
TIPP JAYSON E.,
SMITH TOM L.,
SHAPIRO ESTEE,
HESSELBROCK VICTOR M.,
BUCHOLZ KATHY K.,
REICH THEODORE,
NURNBERGER JOHN I.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1046/j.1360-0443.1995.90911894.x
Subject(s) - psychology , antisocial personality disorder , alcohol dependence , clinical psychology , cluster (spacecraft) , psychiatry , personality , alcohol , medicine , poison control , injury prevention , social psychology , biology , biochemistry , environmental health , computer science , programming language
Evaluations of 1539 alcohol‐dependent subjects (including 5/2 women) were carried out in an attempt to replicate the Type AJB dichotomy suggested by Babor et al. (1992). The subjects are participants in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA), and each was evaluated using a face‐to‐face structured interview. Following the procedure of Babor et al. (1992), data were used to create 17 domains, and a k‐means clustering method was invoked to generate a two‐cluster solution. Thirty‐one per cent of the mates and 25% of the females fell into the Type B group, with overall R 2 of 0.22 and 0.24 for males and females, respectively. The scores in each of the 17 domains and the analyses of the clinical characteristics for Type A and B subjects were, in general, consistent with the earlier onset and more severe course for Type B men and women. The ability of the domains to identify subgroups of alcoholics remained robust even after the exclusion of alcohol dependent subjects with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and those with an onset of alcohol dependence before age 25 years. The present analyses suggest that five of the 17 domains might be especially useful in identifying Type A and B groups.