TY - JOUR
T1 - Alcohol use disorder in women
T2 - Risks and consequences of an adolescent onset and persistent course
AU - Foster, Katherine T.
AU - Hicks, Brian M.
AU - Iacono, William G.
AU - McGue, Matthew
PY - 2014/6
Y1 - 2014/6
N2 - Women are more vulnerable to the deleterious effects of both acute and protracted alcohol use than men, but women's lower levels of alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorder (AUD) have resulted in a paucity of investigations on the development of alcohol problems in women. In particular, it is not clear to what extent the cascading effects of key etiological factors that contribute to an especially severe course of AUD in men also underlie the development of AUD in women. To fill this gap, we examined the adolescent risk factors and adult consequences associated with an adolescent onset and persistent course of AUD in a community sample of women (n = 636) from ages 17 to 29. Women with AUD exhibited greater psychopathology and psychosocial impairment than those without, with an adolescent onset and persistent course indicative of the greatest severity. Notably, high levels of impairment across all women with AUD reduced the utility of onset and course to differentiate profiles of risk and impairment. In contrast to previous work in men, even women whose AUD symptoms desisted continued to exhibit impairment, suggesting that an adolescent onset of AUD is associated with enduring consequences for women's health and functioning, even after ostensible "recovery.".
AB - Women are more vulnerable to the deleterious effects of both acute and protracted alcohol use than men, but women's lower levels of alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorder (AUD) have resulted in a paucity of investigations on the development of alcohol problems in women. In particular, it is not clear to what extent the cascading effects of key etiological factors that contribute to an especially severe course of AUD in men also underlie the development of AUD in women. To fill this gap, we examined the adolescent risk factors and adult consequences associated with an adolescent onset and persistent course of AUD in a community sample of women (n = 636) from ages 17 to 29. Women with AUD exhibited greater psychopathology and psychosocial impairment than those without, with an adolescent onset and persistent course indicative of the greatest severity. Notably, high levels of impairment across all women with AUD reduced the utility of onset and course to differentiate profiles of risk and impairment. In contrast to previous work in men, even women whose AUD symptoms desisted continued to exhibit impairment, suggesting that an adolescent onset of AUD is associated with enduring consequences for women's health and functioning, even after ostensible "recovery.".
KW - adolescent risk factors
KW - adult outcomes
KW - alcohol use disorder
KW - women
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84903269835&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84903269835&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1037/a0035488
DO - 10.1037/a0035488
M3 - Article
C2 - 24955662
AN - SCOPUS:84903269835
SN - 0893-164X
VL - 28
SP - 322
EP - 335
JO - Psychology of Addictive Behaviors
JF - Psychology of Addictive Behaviors
IS - 2
ER -