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At-risk drinkers in the household and short-term course of alcohol dependence
D Hasin1, K M Carpenter, A Paykin
1Department of Psychiatry and School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York 10032, USA.
Objective:
Little is known about the effects of contextual factors on the chronicity of alcohol dependence in the general population. Many adults in the United States live with others in a wide range of relationships. The drinking of household members was investigated as a potential risk factor for persistence of DSM-IV alcohol dependence in a prospective study of household residents.
Method:
At-risk drinking (five or more drinks on at least one occasion) in adult household members living with respondents was assessed at the time of the baseline interview for the index subjects in the study (N = 128; 56% men) who lived with other adults and who met DSM-IV criteria for current alcohol dependence. Index subjects' drinking and demographic variables were also measured at baseline. Approximately 1 year later, follow-up interviews determined the status of alcohol dependence in the 128 subjects.
Results:
Alcohol dependence was significantly more likely to be persistent among subjects with at-risk drinking among household members.
Conclusions:
The presence of other adult heavy drinkers in a household increased the risk of persistence of alcohol dependence in this community sample. Considerably more remains to be learned about the relationship and its treatment implications.