Natural History of Adolescent Alcohol Use Disorders

• NCJ Number: 207800
• Journal: Addiction Volume: 99 Issue: 2 Dated: November 2004 Pages: 5-22
• Author(s): Duncan B. Clark
• Editor(s): Cherry Lowman
• Date Published: November 2004
• Length: 18 pages
• Grant Number(s): K02AA00291; R01AA12723; R01DA14635; P50DA05605
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institutes of Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper summarizes clinically relevant findings from empirical literature on adolescence and alcohol use disorders (AUD's) with a focus on risks, course, and outcomes from a developmental perspective.

Abstract

In only the last decade, have adolescents with alcohol use disorders (AUD's) been the focus of substantial systematic study, even with the long acknowledged importance of the adolescent developmental period in understanding alcohol involvement. This review of findings from empirical literature attempts to describe the natural history of adolescent AUD's in the context of related developmental characteristics with an emphasis on clinically relevant features. The objective is to provide information pertinent to clinical treatment and related research. The conceptual framework used proposes that the developmental pathways defining adolescent AUD phenotypes and related adult outcomes can be described by paths defined by childhood characteristics, and patterns of alcohol consumption over developmental stages. Results of the review found that among childhood characteristics predicting adolescent AUD's, the most clinically relevant are the childhood mental disorders, such as conduct disorder, anxiety disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In addition, by late adolescence, binge drinking and drinking to intoxication becomes relatively common. The rates of alcohol problems and AUD's are influenced by the ages of participants within the adolescent age span with the rate for under the age of 14 being low. Lastly, adolescents with AUD's often have an excess of psychosocial and biomedical problems distinct from AUD symptoms. In conclusion, developmentally specific phenotypic characteristics define the natural history of adolescent AUD's, inform clinical assessment, and provide the developmental context for treatment research. References