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Epidemiologic Bulletin No. 27 



Prevalence of 



DSM-III-R 



Alcohol Abuse 



and Dependence 



United States, 1988 



Bridget F. Grant, Ph.D., Ph.D.; Thomas C. Harford, Ph.D.; 



Patricia Chou, Ph.D.; Roger Pickering, M.S.; Deborah A. Dawson, Ph.D.; 



Frederick S. Stinson, Ph.D.; and John Noble, B.A. 



Nearly 9.0 percent of adults surveyed 



in the 1988 NHIS met DSM-UI-R criteria for 



1-year alcohol abuse and dependence, with 



males about three times more likely than females 



to experience these problems. However, there 



was evidence of a convergence of prevalence rales 



between the sexes in the younger age groups, 



suggesting that females may be catching up. 



This Epidemiologic Bulletin pre- 

 sents detailed prevalence and 

 population estimates of alcohol 

 abuse and dependence for the 

 United States for 1988 The diagnostic 

 categories of alcohol abuse and depen- 

 dence were based on cnlcria from the 

 Diagnostic and Statistical Manttal of 

 Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised 

 (DSM-III-R) (American Psychiatric 

 Association 1987). One-year prevalence 

 estimates of alcohol abuse and depen- 

 dence were derived from self-reports of 

 symptoms of alcohol abuse and depen- 

 dence on the 1988 Alcohol Supplement of 

 the National Health Interview Survey 

 (NHIS) The figures presented in this re- 

 port are the first estimates of DSM-III-R 



alcohol abuse and dependence to be re- 

 ported at the national level. 



Backcjroiind and Procedures 



Prevalence and population estimates of 

 alcohol abuse and dependence were based 

 on data from the NHIS. a nationwide 

 household interview survey conducted by 

 the National Center for Health Statistics 

 and sponsored by the National Institute 

 on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NI- 

 AAA). For the survey, direct interviews 

 were conducted with 43.809 respondents, 

 aged 1 8 years and older, in all 50 States 

 and the Distnct of Columbia. The re- 



sponse rate for the Alcohol Supplement 

 was 85.5 percent. 



The NHIS featured a complex multi- 

 stage sample design (Massey et al. 1989). 

 Primary sampling units (PSUs) were 

 stratified according to sociodemographic 

 criteria and were selected with probability 

 proportional to the size of the sample. 

 There were approximately 2,000 PSUs in 

 the 1988 NHIS sample, 52 of which were 

 self-representing — that is, selected with 

 certainty. Within PSUs, geographically 

 defined secondary sampling units, known 

 as segments, were systematically select- 

 ed. Oversampling of the black populaoon 

 was accomplished at this stage of sample 

 selection. Segments were divided into 

 clusters of approximately four to eight 



Vou IS, No. 1, 1991 



91 



