NCJ Number
134147
Journal
American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Volume: 17 Issue: 4 Dated: (1991) Pages: 439-449
Date Published
1991
Length
11 pages
Annotation
A 1989 survey of 989 college students was conducted to investigate risk factors -- gender, family history of alcohol abuse, family history of depression and mental illness, childhood hyperactivity, and antisocial personality -- associated with alcohol abuse.
Abstract
Student attending class the day of sampling completed the self-administered questionnaire as a group in the classroom. The questionnaire included the alcohol subscale of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS), a modified version of the antisocial personality traits subscale of the DIS to determine the presence of childhood and early adolescent deviant behavior, a childhood hyperactivity subscale, and a series of questions on family history of mental health problems. The complete DIS alcohol subscale is a 20-question instrument that pertains to alcohol use and drinking behavior. Fourteen of the 20-items measure alcohol abuse and were included in this study. Twenty-nine percent of the sample met DIS/DSM-III criteria for alcohol abuse. The prevalence of lifetime alcohol abuse among male students was 46 percent, and 22 percent of the female students screened positive for lifetime alcohol abuse. A loglinear model showed that expression of childhood and early adolescent deviant behavior, family history of depression, and gender were significantly associated with alcohol abuse among the students. 2 tables and 38 references