Developmental Emergence of Alcohol Use Disorder Symptoms and Their Potential as Early Indicators for Progression to Alcohol Dependence in a High Risk Sample : A Longitudinal Study From Childhood to Early Adulthood: An Article Review
The Problem(s)
What is the likelihood of specific Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) symptom appearance once drinking has begun among young people of specific gender, parental alcohol dependence, early onset of drinking, and level of delinquent behavior at onset (Buu et. Al. 2012)?
What is the usefulness which symptom came first as an indicator of likelihood for eventual move into diagnosis of AUD (Buu et. Al. 2012)?
The Method
This study (a part of a larger study) consisted of those 401 children (all Caucasian, from 248 families) who had initiated regular drinking, defined by the use of alcohol at least once a month for 6 months, by ages 21–23. (Buu et. Al. 2012) Forty-six percent of the families were recruited Police records for driving while intoxicated and had at least one parent who met the definition for alcoholism. (Buu et. Al. 2012) Twenty percent of the families were recruited through walking around the neighborhood and knocking on doors, and had a father (or both parents) who also met the definition for alcoholism. (Buu et. Al. 2012) The last group (34%) consisted of families in which neither parent met the definition of lifetime alcolism. (Buu et. Al. 2012)
The Results
The lifetime prevalence rate of AUD was higher in the identified higher-risk group than in the control group. (Buu et. Al. 2012) Also, the study found that people who begin to drink early in life, males in general and young people with higher delinquent behavior when they begin to drink are at a higher risk for progression to diagnosis than subjects in the control population. (Buu et. Al. 2012) The study concludes that young people who display social/interpersonal problems and/or high tolerance are at the highest risk for AUD. (Buu et. Al. 2012)
Discussion
The data demonstrate that some high-risk young people show dependency as the first symptom of AUD. (Buu et. Al. 2012) It also shows that young drinkers tend to drink heavily in social contexts and thus have a higher incidence of social/interpersonal problems. (Buu et. Al. 2012)
Conclusion
The hypotheses formulated at the beginning of this study are supported by the data gathered. (Buu et. Al. 2012)
Research Methodology
The data gathered was obtained through survey and self-report among participants.
Potential Problems
Self-report of negative behaviors can result in a reporting bias which can reduce accuracy of data gathered.
Critique
Since this study served to replicate existing results, its meaningfulness is questionable. While the data does suggest means of identifying at-risk youths who are more susceptible to AUD. On the other hand, the findings do not suggest a particular method of intervention to curb the incidence of AUD in high risk youths. The results, therefore are not actionable in a real-world setting.
Work Cited
Buu, Anne Wang, Wei Schroder, Stephanie A. Kalaida, Natalia L. Puttler, Leon I. Zucker, Robert A. ; Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Vol 121(4), Nov, 2012. pp. 897-908.
