Suchergebnisse

Personality disorders, and particularly antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), frequently co-occur with alcohol dependence. ASPD is considered to be an important cofactor in the pathogenesis and clinical course of alcohol dependence. The chronological relationship between the onset of symptoms of ASPD and alcohol-dependence characteristics has not yet been studied in great detail and the role of ASPD in classification schemes of alcohol dependence as suggested by Cloninger and Schuckit has yet to be determined. We studied 55 alcohol-dependent patients to assess the prevalence and age at manifestation of ASPD, conduct disorder characteristics as well as alcohol dependence by employing the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R. Results indicate that the onset of ASPD characteristics precede that of alcohol dependence by some 4 years. This finding suggests that in patients with ASPD, alcohol dependence might be a secondary syndrome as suggested by previous research.

The study focused on expectations of alcohol effects and patterns of consumption in German and Polish adolescents in the border region of Pomerania. In 2005/2006 a cross-sectional study was conducted in various schools. Adolescents with an average age of 14 from one German town (Greifswald) and two Polish towns (Szczecin and Kolobrzeg) were assessed using the ESPAD (European School Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs) questionnaire. Altogether 757 (444 Polish and 313 German) students in their 7th and 8th grades were assessed. Differences between alcohol consumption patterns and expectations between Germany and Poland, and relationships between alcohol consumption and anticipated alcohol effects were tested. There is a difference in patterns of consumption between the two countries. Among all adolescents, expectations of positive alcohol effects dominated, and the negative effects were estimated to be less likely. In a country-specific comparison, German students estimated the occurrence of positive as well as negative effects to be likely. Adolescents who consumed a lot of alcohol in both countries estimated the positive effects to be stronger. Adolescents are more focused on short-term experiences than the long-term consequences of alcohol consumption. The results show potential targets for prevention and intervention of future risky consumption and alcohol use disorders.

The rate of axis II disorders in alcohol-dependent individuals is suggested to be high. The aim of this investigation is to assess the rate of DSM-IV axis II diagnoses in alcohol-dependent inpatients and their correlation with clinical characteristics of alcohol dependence (AD). 1,079 inpatients with DSM-IV AD from three inpatient addiction treatment centers ('qualified detoxification', open psychiatric university hospital wards) were included. Characteristics of AD were obtained using standardized structured interviews. Diagnoses of DSM-IV personality disorders (PDs) were generated with SCID-II-PQ and SCID-II interviews. Alcoholism severity was measured using the number of DSM-IV criteria endorsed and age at first drinking. Approximately 60% of the sample had at least one PD. However, rates of Axis II disorders differed significantly across centers. The most frequent PDs were obsessive-compulsive, borderline, narcissistic and paranoid PD. Diagnosis of any PD was related to a more severe clinical profile of AD. Regression analyses revealed that obsessive-compulsive PD was related to the number of DSM-IV criteria endorsed while antisocial PD was related to early age at first drinking. The majority of alcohol-dependent individuals had one or more comorbid axis II disorders. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicate that different PDs are related to age at first dinking and alcoholism severity.