A comparison of familial and nonfamilial male alcoholic patients without a coexisting psychiatric disorder.

Both family history of alcoholism and the presence of additional psychiatric disorder in male alcoholic patients are associated with an earlier onset of problem drinking, greater alcoholism severity and poorer clinical outcomes. To assess the relative contribution of family history alone, a sample of 212 male alcoholics not positive for any other psychiatric disorder was selected and divided into those with a family history of alcoholism (FH+) or no family history of alcoholism (FH-) among first degree relatives. Although FH+ alcoholics reported a younger age of onset of problem drinking and greater severity of some alcohol-related sequelae, the differences were not as extensive or pronounced as those found in a previous study of a sample of psychiatrically heterogeneous patients (Penick et al., 1987). A bi-dimensional typology of alcoholism incorporating both additional psychiatric diagnoses and a positive family history of alcoholism is suggested.