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DSM‐IV alcohol disorders in a general population sample of adolescents and young adults
Author(s) -
Nelson Christopher B.,
Wittchen HansUlrich
Publication year - 1998
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.1360-0443.1998.937106511.x
Subject(s) - alcohol dependence , psychopathology , population , alcohol abuse , psychiatry , medicine , substance abuse , young adult , age of onset , psychology , clinical psychology , alcohol , disease , biochemistry , chemistry , environmental health
Aims/Design. As part of the Early Developmental Stages of Psychopathology (EDSP) study, results from the baseline cross‐sectional assessment of DSM‐IV alcohol disorders are presented for a sample of 14‐24‐yearolds resident in Munich, Germany ( N = 3021; 71% response rate). Findings. Life‐time prevalence of DSM‐IV alcohol abuse (men: 15.1%; women: 4.5%) was found to be considerably more prevalent than dependence (men: 10.0%; women: 2.5%) with few cases among respondents younger than 16 years of age; 12‐month prevalence of abuse was 8.4% among men and 2.7% among women and of dependence was 7.3% among men and 2.2% among women. Results show that peak incidence of alcohol disorders occurs at 16‐17 years of age and that early initiation into alcohol use is associated with an increasing odds of disorder onset, especially for dependence among women. Exploratory analysis of retrospectively assessed diagnostic stability show: a temporal progression to abuse and then dependence, that nearly half of past abuse diagnoses are in remission, abuse remission is more common than progression to dependence, and dependence is highly persistent, especially among women. Conclusions . Alcohol disorders are frequent in adolescents and young adults being characterized by transient abuse and less prevalent but persistent dependence syndromes. The relatively high prevalence of dependence diagnoses in this young population with few years of alcohol use is discussed with regard to the clinical validity of DSM‐IV criteria in adolescents and young adults.