Five Types of Alcoholics

It’s a chronic disease marked by an inability to control alcohol consumption. The effort was made to categorize different types of alcoholics, partly to dispel the myth that there is a typical alcoholic. Genetic, environmental, and psychological factors influence the risk of becoming an alcoholic.

• They drink less frequently than other alcoholics, but they tend to binge drink when they drink.
• Alcohol use disorder (alcoholism) is a complex disease that doesn’t always look the same or affect people in the same ways.
• Genetic, environmental, and psychological factors influence the risk of becoming an alcoholic.
• “When most people think of alcoholics, they think of middle-aged men with a profile similar to our chronic severe subtype,” Moss tells WebMD.
• They typically participate in 12-Step groups or are treated by private healthcare professionals.

Their disease can continue for years until a severe, alcohol-related problem in their health or relationships arises. With the highest education and income levels of all alcoholic types, they are predominately middle-aged (around 41), male (60%), and married (about 50%). They usually develop an alcohol dependency in their late 30s, later than other subtypes, and experience moderate rates of depression. While they tend to smoke, few have any other forms of substance abuse. M. Jellinek created the first scientific typology which referred to alcoholism as a disease, but, these have since evolved.

Understanding the Five Types of Alcoholics

Only about a fourth of those in this subtype have sought treatment, usually from specialty treatment programs, detoxification clinics or self-help groups. Less than 10% of people in this subtype seek help for their addiction. When they do get treatment, they prefer 12-Step programs to rehab clinics. This group has a high rate of co-occurring mental illness, with roughly half of them coping with clinical depression and 20 percent with bipolar disorder. More than 75 percent of this group also battles addiction to other substances too, including drugs like nicotine, marijuana, cocaine and opioids.

Alcoholism is the nonmedical, popular term for alcohol dependence, notes Moss. 2Treatment matching refers to the concept that alcoholics with specific characteristics will benefit most from certain treatment approaches. Moreover, they did not lead to the development of theories explaining the etiology, manifestations, and consequences of alcoholism, because they did not propose verification procedures to test assumptions and predict behavior. Habitual inebriety begins as a “voluntary indulgence” that eventually crosses the line between the physiological and the pathological, resulting in a deterioration of physical and mental abilities. Both habitual and periodic inebriety may manifest themselves in different ways, leading to a further classification of inebriates as social and unsocial.

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If you are struggling with alcohol misuse despite negative personal, professional, and health consequences, you may fit into one of the five types of alcoholism or alcoholics. Young antisocial alcoholics have a high rate of psychiatric disorders and other substance abuse. Unlike young adult alcoholics, antisocial alcoholics don’t drink socially with peers.

For those with 6 symptoms or more, this is considered severe alcohol use. Going out with friends occasionally and drinking over your limit is alcohol abuse. When it goes on for too long, alcoholic symptoms can begin to manifest. Although it’s common for young people to do this, it can cause real issues in your life if you https://ecosoberhouse.com/ abuse alcohol for a prolonged period of time. There are certain dangers for some people to become an alcoholic based on family ties or personal coping styles for life. People in the functional subtype manage to prevent the disease from interfering in their professional and personal lives, but often with dire consequences.

Tips for a Successful 10-Day Alcohol Detox

They are also likely to be regular smokers and use other substances, including marijuana, cocaine, and opioids. The Chronic Severe Subtype of alcoholism is considered the most 5 types of alcoholics severe and debilitating subtype. Individuals with this subtype typically have a long history of heavy alcohol use and often have a co-occurring mental health disorder.