A pilot study of alcohol drinkers in Ahwaz, Iran

The psychosocial aspects of 150 alcoholic drinkers (26 females and 124 males) were studied. They were from Ahwaz, the capital of Kuzestan Province, in southwest Iran. The alcohol drinkers were from nearly every walk of life but were not representative of the upper social class. The majority of the males were long-distance lorry drivers and the majority of the women were prostitutes. The great majority were Moslems. A few women had started to drink just to help their husbands stop drinking. The majority had an alcoholic father or mother. None was suffering from gross mental illness, but several had a family history of mental illness.