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Drug and Alcohol use by Young People Attending a Psychiatric Emergency Service *
Author(s) -
Rosenberg Chaim M.,
Dolinsky Harriet
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
british journal of addiction to alcohol and other drugs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0007-0890
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1972.tb01192.x
Subject(s) - psychiatry , medicine , incidence (geometry) , drug , alcohol abuse , substance abuse , drop out , physics , economics , optics , demographic economics
Summary One hundred young people aged 15 to 25 years were seen in the walk‐in psychiatric emergency stroke of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Eighty‐three had used alcohol and 58 had used drugs on at least six separate occasions. In most cases the use of these substances seemed incidental to the clinical presentation. However, serious abuse of drugs or alcohol was linked with a history of other behavioral disturbances such as delinquent acts, school drop‐out and work instability. These behavioral abnormalities were usually apparent from an early age. This study indicates that certain individuals run a substantially higher risk than others of becoming heavily involved with drugs and alcohol. Established drug and alcohol dependence present formidable treatment problems. An emphasis on early prevention—by reaching these high risk individuals while they art still at school—may help to reduce the incidence of these disorders among the young.