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Introduction

It is almost axiomatic that alcohol use disorder (AUD) and the family are inextricably bound. AUD harms individual family members and the functioning of the family as a whole, and family members’ actions may exacerbate problematic drinking. Conversely, families play a key role in recovery from AUD, and recovery has a positive impact on family members and family functioning...

Special emphasis populations in the current context can be defined as groups experiencing health disparities resulting in elevated risk to health, safety, and well-being from drinking alcohol. Individuals from marginalized minority populations often encounter barriers to accessing and receiving effective alcohol treatment due to social inequities and disadvantaged life contexts, which also may...

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) commonly is associated with compromise in neurobiological and/or neurobehavioral processes. The severity of this compromise varies across individuals and outcomes, as does the degree to which recovery of function is achieved. This narrative review first summarizes neurobehavioral, neurophysiological, structural, and neurochemical aberrations/deficits that are frequently...

Recent epidemiological research has identified alarming trends in drinking patterns of girls and women in the United States. In recent years, the amount and frequency of alcohol use are increasing in White and Hispanic girls and young women in contrast to decreasing patterns of heavy alcohol use in boys and young men.^1,2 Similarly, current and binge alcohol use is rising among older women,^3,4 resu...

Addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder characterized by continued substance misuse despite harmful consequences. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is specific to the maladaptive consumption of alcohol.

There has been a global increase in alcohol misuse and rates of alcohol use disorder (AUD) over the last two decades. Recent substantial increases in the United States come from dramatic rises in the prevalence of alcohol misuse and AUD in women relative to men (women, 84% increase; men, 35% increase).

Alcohol-related liver disease generally has been ascribed to men because men reportedly consume alcohol at an increased rate and quantity as compared to women. Recent literature has reported, however, that rates of liver disease attributed to alcohol use by women have increased, largely due, in part, to the increased number of women who consume alcohol regularly. This increase is a paramount...

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

—George Santayana

Few observations in psychiatry have been documented as long and as consistently as the association between anxiety (and general negative affect) and the chronic misuse of alcohol. Research has shown that up to 50% of individuals receiving treatment for problematic alcohol use also met diagnostic criteria for one...

Introduction

The quest to understand the etiology, course, and treatment of alcohol use disorder (AUD) has given rise to an extensive body of work on identifying factors that contribute to these phenomena. Many of these factors, such as temperament and personality traits, are common to multiple psychiatric conditions, and some, such as variants of alcohol metabolizing genes, are specific to AUD...

Introduction

Schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are heterogeneous psychotic disorders that often cause significant disability, with symptoms that include delusions, hallucinations, disorganization, and cognitive impairment.¹ In schizoaffective disorder, the psychotic symptoms are present, along with mood episodes of depression or mania.² People with these schizophrenia spectrum disorders...