| Abstract: | Three groups of young men varying in familial alcoholism risk were compared for lifetime and current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) diagnoses. A withdrawal gate diagnostic model (WGM) requiring withdrawal for a dependence diagnosis was also evaluated. Extremely high lifetime DSM-IV diagnostic rates were found for all groups (≥78%), with the highest rate in the highest risk group. Similar group differences obtained for individual criteria or symptoms. Although lifetime diagnostic rates were similar for the WGM and DSM-IV, virtually all cases of dependence were preceded by abuse for the WGM, unlike DSM-IV. The findings underline the importance of distinguishing degrees of familial alcoholism risk. The WGM model temporal onset findings versus DSM-IV and the high lifetime diagnostic rates obtained suggest some limitations of the DSM-IV diagnoses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
