Alcoholism Symptoms – Is there Typical Alcoholic?

Analyses gathered by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) of a national sample of individuals with alcohol dependence (alcoholism) showed five character subtypes of alcoholism.

Findings should help remove the popular notion of the ‘typical alcoholic,’.  Young adults actually comprised the largest group of alcoholics in this country, with nearly 20 percent of alcoholics being highly functional and well-educated with good incomes.  More than half of the alcoholics in the United States have no multigenerational family history of the disease, suggesting that their form of alcoholism was unlikely to have genetic causes.

Researchers identified unique subtypes of alcoholism based on family history of alcoholism, age of onset of regular drinking and alcohol problems, alcohol symptom patterns of alcohol dependence and abuse, and the presence of other substance abuse and mental disorders.  Following are the numbers:

31.5% – Young Adult drinkers with a low rate of family alcoholism

21.0% – Young Anti-social type, early onset of alcohol problems.  More than half come from families with alcoholism.  Many half co-existing mental health disorders.

19.5% – Functional – typically middle aged, well-educated with stable jobs and families.

19.0% – Intermediate Familial, middle-aged with about 50% from families with multigenerational alcoholism.  Almost half have mental health disorders.

9.0% – Chronic Severe – middle-aged with early onset of alcohol problems.  80% from families with multigenerational alcoholism.  Highest rates of psychiatric disorders.  This group is has the highest amount of those that seek treatment for their drinking problems, making them the most prevalent type of alcoholic in treatment.

Source – National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

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