Multiple alcohol-related problems in the United States: on the rise?

Are drinking problems on the rise in the U.S. general population? Surveys of drinking practices and problems conducted in the United States in 1967, 1969, 1979 and 1984 included numerous questions on alcohol-related problems that were identical or nearly identical in wording. Using data from these surveys, we tested for ordered increases over time in the prevalence of an indicator of multiple problems, considered on both a current (1-year) and lifetime basis. We studied prevalence in men and women between the ages of 22 and 59 in all four surveys. Prevalence of the multiple problem indicator was rare, especially when considered on a current basis. However, relative increases in prevalence ranging from 53% to over 200% were found from 1967 to 1984 in the multiple problem indicator for men and women, for lifetime as well as current problems. With the exception of current problems in women (a very rare condition even in the 1984 survey), these changes were all statistically significant or showed a trend toward significance. When respondents were subgrouped by age, all subgroups still showed increases since 1967, although sample sizes decreased and significance tests of ordered increases over time were not so consistent.