Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Chronic Intermittent Ethanol Vapor Exposure Paired with Two-Bottle Choice to Model Alcohol Use Disorder
Published on: June 23, 2023
Truth or consequences in the diagnosis of substance use disorders
Christopher S Martin1, James W Langenbucher, Tammy Chung
1Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
Aims:
This commentary critically evaluates the use of substance-related negative psychosocial and health consequences to define and diagnose alcohol and other substance use disorders.
Methods:
Narrative review.
Results:
The consequences of substance use cause much suffering and are major public health and economic problems. However, there are a number of conceptual and measurement problems with using consequences as diagnostic criteria for substance disorders. Data indicate that substance-related consequences introduce systematic bias and degrade the validity of diagnostic systems.
Conclusions:
Negative psychosocial and health consequences of substance use should play a fundamentally reduced role in modern diagnostic systems for, and definitions of, addictive disorders.
Related Concept Videos
Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...
Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
Drug Dependence
CNS Depressants: Alcohol and Nicotine
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-IV: Assessement and Diagnostic Studies
Medical History

