Family History of Alcoholism in Males: Absence of Distinguishing Features for Treatment Matching

Abstract

One variable for subtyping the alcoholic population that could influence treatment-matching efforts is family history of alcoholism. This study compared two groups of male patients undergoing rehabilitation for alcohol dependence (39 family history positive [FHP] versus 36 family history negative [FHN]) on a number of salient dimensions for which specific targeted intervention components might be implemented. The FHP were similar to FHN subjects on all variables except that FHP had significantly fewer years of education than did FHN. Several possible explanations to account for these findings are discussed.