J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc.
1997 Sep;36(5):850-860.
Subtypes and Characteristics of Alcohol Use Disorder
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Psychiatry, Dankook University Hospital, Cheonan, Korea.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
Multiple typologies of alcoholics have been studied, such as Jellineck's disease concept classification, Cloninger's neurobiological learning model, Bucker's developmental model, DSM III-B and DSM IV classification, and Babor's multidimensional typology. To study if Babor's typology modification could be used to classify Korean alcoholics, we grouped 95 male inpatient alcoholics into Babor's typology modification.
METHODS
This study employed cluster analysis of measures representing several dimensions premorbid risk and vulnerability dependence severity and alcohol-related problems, chronicity and alcohol-related consequences, and comorbid psychopathology. We compared demographic and clinical characteristics among Babor's type A and type B alcoholics and normal control group.
RESULTS
Type B alcoholics showed more characteristic symptoms in family history, more childhood behavior problems, earlier onset, more drinking amount, and more dependence severity, more medical, social, physical problems, more life time severity, more depressive, anxiety, hostility, compared with type A alcoholics. The statistically significant variables differentiating three groups(type A, type B, normal control group) were drinking days, dependence severity, lifetime severity, medical, social consequence. Alcohol Use Inventory to Babor s typology of alcoholism was very useful scale differentiating three groups.
CONCLUSION
Babor's typology of alcoholism was useful for classification of inpatient alcoholics of Korea. It can be helpful and applicable to clinical diagnosis and research in Korean alcoholic patients.
