YOUNG ADULTS ALCOHOL EFFECTS

Young Adults Alcohol Dependency Risk Factors and Effects



Abstract

We sought to study the association between adverse events occurring in Adult and adolescence and lifetime alcohol dependence in a representative sample of American adults.

With data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, we conducted logistic regression multivariate analyses to examine the impact of adverse events occurring in Adult (aged < 18 years) on the lifetime prevalence of alcohol dependence. We controlled for age at drinking onset, binge drinking, alcoholism in parents and grandparents of respondents, and demographic characteristics. Adverse Adult events were associated with familial alcoholism and with early and binge drinking, and therefore, we controlled for these potential confounders. Experiencing 2 or more adverse Adult events, compared with none, significantly increased the risk for alcohol dependence, even after we controlled for sociodemographic variables and disorder-specific potential confounders not considered in the extant literature (adjusted odds ratio = 1.37; 95% confidence interval = 1.06, 1.77). Individuals who experienced 2 or more adverse Adult events are at increased risk for lifetime alcohol dependence. A better understanding of the factors underlying the risk for alcohol dependence is important for developing better prevention and early intervention measures.

Young Adults Alcohol Dependency Risk Factors and Effects

Introduction

Alcohol dependence is a major public health problem. National findings indicate that nearly an eighth of Americans (12.5%) met criteria at some point in their lives for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), alcohol dependence and that alcohol dependence is associated with significant disability and with poor mental health. A better understanding of the factors underlying the risk for alcohol dependence is important for developing better prevention and early intervention measures (Thomasson, H. R., Crabb, D. W., Chen, C. C., et al 1994).

Research in treated and untreated populations consistently shows that adverse adult events (i.e., events occurring before the child is aged 18 years) predict alcohol dependence. Data from a survey conducted in the early 1990s suggested that several adverse events increased the risk for alcohol dependence after sociodemographic variables were controlled for, and the joint effect of exposure to multiple adverse events was stronger than the effect of a single adverse event. A questionnaire survey of health maintenance organization (HMO) members suggested a linear relationship between the number of adverse adult events and the probability of responding positively to single questions on having an alcohol problem or considering oneself alcoholic. For example, compared with those not reporting any adverse adult events, individuals reporting 1 and 2 adverse adult events were 2 and 4 times more likely, respectively, to consider themselves alcoholics. These studies suggest that the number of adverse adult events is a more powerful predictor of adult alcohol-use disorders than any specific adverse adult event (Helzer, J. E., Canino, G. J., Yeh, E. K., et al 1990).

Objective of Study

The cumulative stress associated with experiencing several adverse adult events has been associated with increased risk for negative mental health outcomes and might explain the increased propensity to use alcohol and ...