They have the highest divorce rate — 25.1 percent — of all the alcoholic types. Only 9 percent have gone to college, and only 43 percent are employed full time. They drink more heavily than any other type of alcoholic, consuming alcohol 248 days of the year on average and drinking five or more drinks 69 percent of the time.
The above signs can indicate an addiction to alcohol or that you are dependent and on the path to developing AUD. At this point, it would be safer to seek professional help to prevent complications and reduce the risk of relapse. Drinking in moderate amounts daily—one or fewer drinks for women and two or fewer for men—does not necessarily indicate an alcohol use disorder. However, it can make you more likely to develop AUD, especially if you become tolerant to one or two daily drinks and require larger amounts to achieve the same feeling. Several variables can impact the lifespan of someone with AUD, such as the severity of their condition and co-occurring health problems. The CDC estimated that 56% of all alcohol-related deaths in the US from 2011–2015 involved people between 35–64 years of age.
People in recovery from AUD who share their experiences, coping skills, and strategies typically facilitate these groups. BetterHelp offers affordable mental health care via phone, video, or live-chat. Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive disease affecting millions of people worldwide.
It’s less likely for them to have co-occurring mental health conditions or family histories of alcoholism. As a result, many within this group don’t seek treatment for their substance use. The young adult subtype is the largest of the groups accounting for 31.5% of alcoholics. Individuals within this Alcohol Poisoning Symptoms & Treatment group are typically in their early twenties and develop alcohol dependence around 19 years old.
If you or someone you know is showing traits of alcohol use disorder, contact your healthcare provider. Treatment for alcohol use disorder varies depending on the severity of your symptoms and how long the condition has persisted. The most common treatment options for people with the condition include the following listed below. All types of alcoholics can face serious physical and mental health problems due to drinking. The more you know about them, the more motivated you might be to get help for yourself or someone else. A history of AUD in one’s family, the development of alcohol abuse early on in life, and a current severe AUD are classified as chronic severe alcoholism.
Functional Subtype
Young and carefree, the average person in this category is between 17 and 25 and is newly legal to drink. They typically come from families with low rates of alcoholism and they are unlikely to suffer from co-occurring mental health conditions. Those within the chronic severe subtype are typically middle-aged but began drinking alcohol at an early age.
Do Different Alcoholics Undergo Specific Treatment Types?
Treatment typically includes individual and group counseling, medication, and other therapies. It allows you to focus on recovery in an environment free from triggers and distractions. Avenues Recovery is a community-based drug and alcohol rehabilitation center with locations across the United States.
Understanding the 6 Types of Alcoholism
Nearly one-third of those in this group have families with a history of alcoholism. Individuals in this subtype who seek help tend to attend 12-step groups or seek support from private healthcare providers. The functional subtype of alcoholism refers to individuals who are typically middle-aged and well-educated, with stable jobs and family lives despite their abuse of alcohol. Many people with AUD do recover, but setbacks are common among people in treatment. Behavioral therapies can help people develop skills to avoid and overcome triggers, such as stress, that might lead to drinking. Medications also can help deter drinking during times when individuals may be at greater risk of a return to drinking (e.g., divorce, death of a family member).
They are mostly middle-aged with high rates of co-occurring disorders including antisocial personality disorder. This group also has the highest likelihood of a family history of alcohol use disorder. Since their condition is the most serious, people with chronic severe AUD are also the most likely to seek treatment. The differences in personality traits between type I and type II alcoholics led to a hypothesis about the underlying motivation for alcohol consumption in the two subtypes (Cloninger 1987a). According to this theory, type I alcoholics experience a late onset of alcoholism because their high harm avoidance trait initially inhibits the initiation and frequency of drinking. After an extended period of socially encouraged drinking (e.g., drinking with coworkers at lunch), the risk of alcoholism increases, because the drinkers experience relief of their anxieties after alcohol consumption.
Moreover, many don’t believe they have a drinking problem until they start experiencing health issues. To understand this complex and unique disorder, it’s essential to learn the different types of alcoholics. It’s also critical to understand their experiences with substance abuse.
- Of the alcoholism subtypes, functional individuals are less likely to relapse.
- Alcoholism is a complex and pervasive issue affecting millions of people in America.
- But they started drinking much earlier than young adult alcoholics — usually by the age of 15 or 16.
- Similarly, it was unexpected that the genetic backgrounds of mild and severe alcohol abusers should be the same, whereas the genetic background of moderate abusers differed.
Previous efforts to identify alcoholism subtypes focused primarily on individuals who were hospitalized or otherwise receiving treatment for their alcoholism. Thus, a substantial proportion of people with alcoholism were not represented in the samples previously used to define subtypes of this disease. Nearly 50 percent have a family history of alcoholism, and co-occurring mental illness is prevalent. Approximately half suffer from clinical depression, and about 1 in 5 has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Intermediate familial alcoholics are more likely to be male and have a job.
