ABSTRACT
Alcohol abuse and dependence are highly prevalent disorders that cause much misery for patients and their spouses and children, not to mention the high financial burden on society for treatment and rehabilitation. According to preliminary results of the Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) program—the largest psychiatric epidemiologic study of representative community samples in history—the highest prevalence rates of disorders in the communities studied were for substance abuse disorders, affective disorders, and anxiety disorders (Myers et al., 1984; Robins et al., 1984). According to these results, more than 9 million people in the United States suffer from alcohol abuse or dependence in any 6-month period; 23 million to 31 million people in the United States will suffer from alcohol abuse or dependence at some time during their lives. In this chapter, the term “alcoholism” is used to describe alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence.
