Study Finds 5 Types Of Alcoholics

Research Also Shows More Than Half Of U.S. Alcoholics Are Young Adults

(WebMD)  New alcoholism research identifies five types of alcoholics and shows that young adults account for more than half of U.S. alcoholics.

The high percentage of young adults among alcoholics was unexpected, notes researcher Howard Moss, M.D., the associate director for clinical and translational research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

"While we knew that many young adults had problematic involvement with alcohol from our research on college-aged drinkers, we were certainly surprised by the proportion of alcohol-dependent individuals who fell into that young adult cluster," Moss tells WebMD.

In the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Moss and colleagues describe the five types of alcoholics. But before you read those descriptions, keep Moss' advice in mind.

"We hope that if someone suspects they may have a problem with alcohol that they talk about this with their health care provider," Moss tells WebMD. "If the health care professional is uncomfortable with assessing alcohol problems (and we hope all such professionals are comfortable with these assessments) the individual should ask for a referral to an addictions specialist for an in-depth evaluation," he says.

Moss and colleagues studied data from 1,484 U.S. adults who took part in a national survey conducted by the NIAAA from 2001 to 2002. The study focused on alcohol dependence and also included questions about personality, family history of alcoholism and other substance use.

The researchers applied the survey's findings to the U.S. population. They estimate that in the year before the study, nearly 8 million people in the U.S. met the standard for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence.

Alcoholism is the nonmedical, popular term for alcohol dependence, notes Moss.

The study describes five subtypes of alcoholics.

The young adult subtype accounts for about 32 percent of U.S. alcoholics. They're young adults who rarely seek help for alcohol dependence. About 24 years old, they became alcoholics by age 20, on average. They drink less frequently than other alcoholics, but they tend to binge drink when they drink. This is the largest subtype.

The young antisocial subtype comprises 21 percent of U.S. alcoholics. They are 26 years old, on average. More than half have antisocial personality disorder. They tended to start drinking at 15 and became alcoholics by 18 — earlier than other subtypes. They are
more likely to smoke tobacco and pot. The young antisocial subtype and the young adult subtype don't overlap, Moss tells WebMD.

The functional subtype accounts for about 19 percent of U.S. alcoholics. They're generally middle-aged, working adults who tend to have stable relationships, more education, and higher incomes than other alcoholics. They tend to drink every other day, often consuming five or more drinks on drinking days.

The intermediate familial subtype makes up nearly 19 percent of U.S. alcoholics. Nearly half have close relatives who are alcoholics. Alcoholics in this subtype typically began drinking by 17 and became alcoholics in their early 30s.

The chronic severe subtype is the rarest subtype, accounting for about 9 percent of U.S. alcoholics. This subtype mainly includes men, has the highest divorce rate, and frequently includes users of illicit drugs.

"When most people think of alcoholics, they think of middle-aged men with a profile similar to our chronic severe subtype," Moss tells WebMD. "Our data shows that alcoholism is more a disorder of youth than previously suspected."

Moss warns that while some alcoholic subtypes may function better than others, "in all cases, alcohol dependence must be viewed as a severe disease with a significant adverse impact on health and well-being."

[bfk121212]

A well done study. There is much ignorance in our society and even among some AA members about what a "real" alcoholic really is. There are many types of "real" alcoholics out there as this study suggests. If there was more awareness that alcoholism comes in many forms and a variety of types, perhaps more lives could be saved.

[matt02061987]

your not an alcoholic unless you are dependent on alcohol. meaning you cant function without it. i my self have used all deferent kinds of drugs including acohol and tabaco, and have been adicted to anything. i dont belive in addiction. only habbit.

I did not know that there were such population classifications in existance. This article enlightened and taught me about the statistical analysis and classifications of american alcoholic dependents. I am curious if this study has been done more than recently. IF so, how many years have these population groups been studied, so that the evolution of alcohol dependence in our society can be studied? Finally, It takes a scientific concensus of multiple, replicable studys over time to be able to rely on the conclusions of the researchers as reliable fact.

This article was very informative. People who read studies in the news tend to take them as true fact, when they are only an indicator of truth. In order for scientific studies to have validity that reasonable people can use to make judgements, there needs to be what is called a scientific concensus. That is, many studies that tend to indicate the same findings. Statistical studies are somewhat different than experiments, yet they are no more indicative of fact. I never knew the types of alcoholics until today. The article seems right on the money to me in classifying the types of alcoholics. Much more research in this area will surely continue in the coming years. Thanks for teaching some tools about alcohol dependence that I did not know!

This article was very informative. People who read studies in the news tend to take them as true fact, when they are only an indicator of truth. In order for scientific studies to have validity that reasonable people can use to make judgements, there needs to be what is called a scientific concensus. That is, many studies that tend to indicate the same findings. Statistical studies are somewhat different than experiments, yet they are no more indicative of fact. I never knew the types of alcoholics until today. The article seems right on the money to me in classifying the types of alcoholics. Much more research in this area will surely continue in the coming years. Thanks for teaching some tools about alcohol dependence that I did not know!

[bbailey642]

"I like beer, it makes me a jolly good fellow..."

[toldyouso21]

***Posted*** ***by*** ***somebloke*** ***at*** ***04***:***18*** ***PM*** : ***Jul*** ***01***, ***2007***


***Your*** ***decade*** ***of*** ***schooling*** ***was*** ***remiss*** ***in*** ***teaching*** ***you*** ***that*** ***no*** ***body*** ***of*** ***knowledge*** ***is*** ***either*** ***absolute***, ***finite***, ***static*** ***or*** ***defintive***. ***Learn*** ***to*** ***take*** ***new*** ***information*** ***and*** ***learn*** ***from*** ***it*** ***instead*** ***of*** ***dismissing*** ***it*** ***because*** ***of*** ***what*** ***you*** ***were*** ***told*** ***10*** ***years*** ***ago***. ***If*** ***all*** ***fields*** ***reacted*** ***like*** ***you***, ***we***'***d*** ***still*** ***be*** ***sacrificing*** ***people*** ***for*** ***rain***, ***using*** ***leeches*** ***to*** ***stop*** ***disease*** ***and*** ***scared*** ***to*** ***sail*** ***anywhere*** ***because*** ***we***'***d*** ***fall*** ***off*** ***the*** ***earth***. ***Grow*** ***up***. ***They*** ***did*** ***not*** ***teach*** ***you*** ***all*** ***you*** ***ever*** ***need*** ***to*** ***know*** ***about*** ***anything*** ***in*** ***college***. ***Every*** ***knowledge*** ***base*** ***is*** ***flawed*** ***in*** ***that*** ***very*** ***little*** ***information*** ***is*** ***so*** ***factual*** ***and*** ***absolute*** ***that*** ***continual*** ***study*** ***and*** ***information*** ***cannot*** ***debunk*** ***a*** ***former*** ***generations*** &***quot***;***truths***&***quot***;. ***So*** ***now*** ***you*** ***have*** ***been*** ***exposed*** ***to*** ***something*** ***that*** ***is*** ***different*** ***from*** ***your*** ***10*** ***years***--***the*** ***trick*** ***is***: ***can*** ***you*** ***learn*** ***from*** ***this***--***or*** ***will*** ***you*** ***discard*** ***everything*** ***that*** ***does*** ***not*** ***underline*** ***what*** ***you*** ***thought*** ***you*** ***already*** ***knew***?

[toldyouso21]

Soft love doesn't work with these people. Let them learn on their own. Most want attention in some way. They'll get all the attention they want when they end up homeless.
Posted by californiar at 03:45 AM : Jul 01, 2007


Bad idea. For one, too much alcohol in one setting can kill a person, and another, a person who is allowed to drink can kill other people. Your rationale only makes sense if you let a relative drink and live out their entire life in a padded room not interacting with others. Like overeaters, the damage from the addiction does not end with the drinker. In the case of both, the resulting damage cause numerous health problems that raise the taxes and health care costs for everyone else. And in the case of the drinker, they can also drive and kill someone, get loaded and rape or shoot someone (or be raped) A lot of impaired judgement going on--so not a live and let live and learn proposition.

[toldyouso21]

I don't have the answer, but for me it's the simple realization that there's no need, no good use for alcohol, and then just stop, not think about it, and move on.
Posted by incog-nito at 03:10 AM : Jun 30, 2007

Probably you stopped before the true addiction kicked in--you were blessed/lucky. I was the same way. I used to drink in college for money, could drink football players under the table...drinking 151 or tequila or vodka. Did that until I was almost 20. Used to come home after classes and drink 2 or 3 glasses of gin --straight. Not on the rocks--just straight--but I put it in a glass so I thought that meant I did not have a problem. Even tried white lightning--but it left so many blisters in my mouth--Lord only knows what I was drinking. Then one day, before I turned 20, I decided this was not for me. I just quit. I only found out years later how narrowly I escaped--when my mom shared with me that my dad had had a drinking problem as had my grandfather. I dodged a bullet and now, rarely drink more than a glass of wine and that, about twice a year if at all.

[dmk3]

toldyouso,
did you type that verbatim, if so which magazine and article. you seem to have an answer (a lengthy on at that) no harm just wondering are you a philosopher of all things?