Luckily, there are several treatment options for all types of alcoholics. If you or a loved one suffers from alcohol use disorder (AUD), you must seek addiction treatment. To understand this complex and unique disorder, it’s essential to learn the different types of alcoholics. Although it isn’t a treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD), the Reframe app can help you cut back on drinking gradually with the science-backed knowledge to empower you 100% of the way. Drinkers in the intermediate familial subtype often have a family history of alcoholism, where genetics and environmental factors such as family behavior patterns contribute to their drinking habits.
History
Intermediate familial alcoholics are about 38 years old and started drinking around the age of 17. About 17 percent of functional alcoholics have ever sought help for their alcohol dependence. They start drinking around 18 years old but develop alcohol dependence later in life around the age of 37. The functional alcoholic subtype accounts for about 19% of alcoholics and includes individuals in their early ‘40s. More than half of young antisocial alcoholics come from families with alcoholism, and about half have been diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder.
- The study found abstinence from alcohol was the most stable form of remission for recovering alcoholics.
- Unlike young adult alcoholics, antisocial alcoholics don’t drink socially with peers.
- However, for this group, alcohol dependence typically develops at around 29 years old.
- Understanding these categories aids in recognizing drinking patterns and implementing appropriate interventions to promote healthier behaviors.
Functional Subtype
Melody is here to help as you adjust to a life with less (or no) alcohol. Our daily research-backed readings teach you the neuroscience of alcohol, and our in-app Toolkit provides the resources and activities you need to navigate each challenge. The Reframe app equips you with the knowledge and skills you need to not only survive drinking less, but to thrive while you navigate the journey.
Understanding Alcoholism: 5 Different Types of Alcoholics
- The following are the primary factors considered when grouping different types of alcoholics.
- Their drinking can blur the lines between social and unhealthy drinking, often due to an active reward system and an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex.
- Unlike many of the other types of drinkers, they’re the most likely to seek help (which makes sense, given that the red flags are hard to miss).
- Because many in this group don’t fit the stereotype of a “problem drinker,” it’s easy to dismiss their alcohol use as normal college or young adult behavior.
What challenges do young antisocial type drinkers face? This group may not drink daily, but they consume large amounts during drinking sessions. Can you describe the five types 5 types of alcoholics according to the niaaa of drinkers identified by the NIAAA?
Traits and Treatment of Young Adult Alcoholics
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, issued by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2005, defines “moderate use” as no more than two alcoholic beverages a day for men and no more than one alcoholic beverage a day for women. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word alcoholism, it is not a recognized diagnosis, and the use of the term alcoholism is discouraged due to its heavily stigmatized connotations. Several large GWAS have found differences in the genetics of alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence, although the two are to some degree related. African Americans and Native Americans with this allele have a reduced risk of developing alcoholism. Beer alone is the world’s most widely consumed alcoholic beverage; it is the third-most popular drink overall, after water and tea.
There is evidence that with abstinence, there is a reversal of at least some of the alcohol induced central nervous system damage. With repeated heavy consumption of alcohol, these receptors are desensitized and reduced in number, resulting in tolerance and physical dependence. Among those with comorbid occurrences, a distinction is commonly made between depressive episodes that remit with alcohol abstinence (“substance-induced”), and depressive episodes that are primary and do not remit with abstinence (“independent” episodes). Panic disorder can develop or worsen as a direct result of long-term alcohol misuse.
Are there distinctions in treatment methods for different types of alcoholics?
The usual age for starting to drink in this group is 16, with dependence developing by 29. They also have the greatest frequency of alcohol-related emergency room visits and spend substantial time recovering from drinking episodes. An example is an individual who had conduct disorder symptoms before age 15, such as skipping school, lying, engaging in fights, or stealing. They also experience high rates of accompanying mental health problems, including depression, bipolar disorder, and social phobia. An example is someone raised in an environment where heavy drinking is common and adopts these behaviors in adulthood. Someone regarded as a functional alcoholic can sustain both personal and professional achievements, despite secretly struggling with powerful alcohol cravings.
Drinking during pregnancy may harm the child’s health, and drunk driving increases the risk of traffic accidents. Physical effects include irregular heartbeat, impaired immune response, cirrhosis, increased cancer risk, and severe withdrawal symptoms if stopped suddenly. Heavy usage can result in trouble sleeping, and severe cognitive issues like dementia, brain damage, or Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome.
The “intermediate familial” subtype is common, making up about 19% of different types of alcoholism. The criteria for identifying various types of alcoholics detail the specific aspects and characteristics that experts and researchers evaluate when classifying individuals with alcohol-related issues. Functional alcoholics generally begin drinking at age 18 but do not become dependent until around 37, according to a piece by Michael Bayba, medically reviewed by Annamarie Coy for Alcohol Rehab Help. Young adult alcoholics are more prone to engaging in risky drinking situations and, although they tend to drink less frequently than other groups, they are more likely to binge when they do consume alcohol. Chronic severe alcoholics are the least common but experience the most intense consequences.
Maintaining a successful career doesn’t exclude alcoholism—it can mask it. Binge patterns appear across multiple subtypes. Yet the functioning alcoholic poses different obstacles. Types 1-5 are NIAAA-classified subtypes with research validation. Emergency room visits related to drinking are most common in this group.
These characteristics play a role in decreasing the ability to stop drinking of an individual with an alcohol use disorder. Recognizing one of these types of alcoholics in yourself or someone close to you is not the end—it’s the beginning of a path toward healing. Knowing the types of alcoholics provides a framework not just for awareness, but for taking appropriate action. Unlike the young subtypes, people in this group often started drinking in their late teens or early 20s but didn’t experience problems until their 30s.
This group also experiences the highest alcohol-related emergency room visits, work and social problems, and withdrawal. They also have high rates of cigarette, marijuana, and cocaine addiction. They often have steady jobs, relationships, decent family incomes, and have accomplished a higher education.
Dual addictions and dependencies
Estonia had the highest death rate from alcohol in Europe in 2015 at 8.8 per 100,000 population. As of 2015update in the United States, about 17 million (7%) of adults and 0.7 million (2.8%) of those age 12 to 17 years of age are affected. Geographically, it is least common in Africa (1.1% of the population) and has the highest rates in Eastern Europe (11%). Benzodiazepine use increases cravings for alcohol and the volume of alcohol consumed by problem drinkers. Topiramate effectively reduces craving and alcohol withdrawal severity as well as improving quality-of-life-ratings.
According to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), approximately 28.9 million individuals aged 12 and older in the United States had Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in the past year, representing 10.2% of this age group. It encompasses a spectrum of drinking behaviors, ranging from mild to severe, and is diagnosed based on specific criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences. Understanding these categories aids in recognizing drinking patterns and implementing appropriate interventions to promote healthier behaviors.
Binge Drinking
Mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety occur in some cases but at lower rates than in more severe subtypes. Not all alcoholics know they suffer from a substance abuse problem because denial is a regular and expected aspect of alcoholism. The medical term for alcoholism is alcohol use disorder (AUD). The five types of alcoholics deal with one or more alcohol problems. The chronic severe subtype is the smallest but most severe of all the categories of alcoholism. In the U.S., chronic severe alcoholics comprise 9% of all alcoholics.
Their drinking can blur the lines between social and unhealthy drinking, often due to an active reward system and an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex. Young adult drinkers often engage in binge drinking, especially in college settings. However, in spite of the fact that about two thirds seek treatment, the profound effects of alcohol can keep them trapped, leading to multiple attempts at recovery. Chronic severe drinkers are likely to struggle with other psychiatric conditions, such as depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and other substance misuse problems. Throughout this time, alcohol became a frequent companion for Sarah, who falls into the “young antisocial” type of AUD (about 21% of all cases).