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Examination of type I/type II alcoholism typology in a Greek hospital treatment population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

Lefteris Lykouras ,
George Moussas  and
Alexander Botsis
Lefteris Lykouras*
Affiliation:
First Department of General Hospital Psychiatry, Athens University Medical School, “Attikon” Hospital, 1, Rimini Street, 124 10Athens, Greece
George Moussas
Affiliation:
Rehabilitation Unit of Alcoholic Patients, Psychiatric Hospital of Attica, Athens, Greece
Alexander Botsis
Affiliation:
University Mental Health Research Institute, Athens, Greece
*
*Corresponding author. elykoura@med.uoa.gr (L. Lykouras).
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Abstract

Objective

The study aims at testing the validity of two types of classification of male alcoholism in a Greek hospital treatment sample.

Method

The study population was drawn from male patients with alcohol dependence admitted to the Alcohol Treatment Unit of the Psychiatric Hospital of Attica. Seventy-three patients comprised the study sample after exclusion of subjects with alcohol dependence suffering from a comorbid serious medical condition, schizophrenic disorder, bipolar disorder, drug dependence or abuse, organic mental disorder or inability to read. The alcoholics were grouped in type I and II adopting the criterion of age-of-onset used by von Knorring et al. (1985). Impulsivity, suicide risk and violence risk were measured by means of the impulse control scale (ICS), the suicide risk scale (SRS) and the past feelings and acts of violence scale (PFAVS).

Results

Fifty patients with alcohol dependence were defined as late-onset and 23 as early-onset. Compared to late-onset patients, early-onset individuals with alcohol dependence had more familial alcoholism (P = 0.032); they were in a higher rate unmarried (P = 0.001), had no stable job before entry in the Unit (P = 0.007) and scored higher on ICS (P = 0.046) and SRS (P = 0.024).

Conclusion

The present study confirms type I/type II dichotomy of male alcoholism and also shows that the age-of-onset is a valid classification criterion.

Keywords

AlcoholismTypologiesAge-of-onset
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , June 2004 , pp. 214 - 218
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2002

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