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

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.