Alcoholism and Psychiatric Disorder

Abstract

Over the past 50 years the relationship between alcoholism and psychiatric disorders, such as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia, has been the subject of a great deal of research. Psychiatric problems have been seen as both a cause and a result of alcoholism. Whatever the relation between alcoholism and psychiatric disorder is, it may have significance for the development of differentially effective treatment strategies. Several authors have argued that the presence and nature of psychiatric symptoms should form the basis of a classification system for alcoholics. Given the potential rewards of such a system for both understanding the aetiology of alcoholism and developing effective treatment strategies, it is important to have a clear picture of the nature and extent of this relationship. This paper reviews critically the published studies of the association between alcoholism and psychiatric disorder and outlines directions for future research.

Schizophrenia, Alcohol Abuse, and Violent Behavior: A 26-Year Followup Study of an Unselected Birth Cohort

“…There is also clear evidence for a relationship between alcohol abuse and violent behavior (Tiihonen et al 1993; Eronen 1995; Eronen et al 1996 a , 1996 b ). More recently, attention has been paid to the comorbidity rate of schizophrenia and alcoholism, which has been reported to range from 6 to 44 percent among subjects with schizophrenia (Peace and Mellsop 1987; Regier et al 1990; Cohen 1995; Rice and Harris 1995). Data obtained from selected populations suggest that subjects with this comorbidity have a more than twofold risk of committing violent crimes than nonalcoholic subjects with schizophrenia (Lindqvist and Allebeck 1989; Swanson et al 1990; Eronen et al 1996 b ).…”

Schizophrenia and psychotic symptoms in families of two American Indian tribes

“…Reported findings of schizophrenia among American Indians have also been hampered by their reliance on small clinical samples and a failure to adequately consider the role of substance abuse in lending expression to psychotic symptoms [28-31]. A further limitation concerns the accuracy and validity of diagnoses for schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, often thought to have been made with little or no awareness of culturally bound syndromes specific to American Indian societies [32].…”