Female alcoholics: III. Patterns of consumption 3-10 years after treatment.
In a follow-up study of 55 female alcoholics, 44 women (80%) were interviewed on an average of 6.5 years after treatment. According to the reported quantity and frequency of drinking the year prior to follow-up, eight women (18%) were classified as abstainers, nine (20%) as light drinkers, ten (22%) as moderate drinkers, and 17 (39%) as heavy drinkers. In a longitudinal perspective, four main patterns of outcome could be discriminated: long-term abstinence, short-term abstinence intermingled with drinking, asymptomatic drinking and continuous heavy drinking. Most of the asymptomatic drinkers reported a consumption of very small amounts of alcohol, avoiding becoming intoxicated. Those women who reported consumption of more than 2/3 of a bottle of spirits on any single drinking day or consumed more than 7 liters of pure alcohol annually, usually satisfied the DSM-III criteria for alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence.
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D012050:Rehabilitation, Vocational / Q000523:psychology; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012931:Social Environment