Female alcoholism: Approaches towards a differential diagnosis

Several characteristic differences between male and female alcohol dependence have been noted in the last two decades. But there is no reason to look at female alcoholism as a disease entity. Therefore, to improve treatment results, therapies must be designed to meet the specific needs of identifiable subgroups. A prerequisite for matching people to therapies is a reliable differential diagnosis. In a heterogeneous sample of 118 women treated for alcohol dependence five subgroups could be described according to the results of a cluster analysis based on standardized questionnaires and according to additional data from an interview. These were (1) young women with heavy drinking and serious health problems; (2) alcohol consumption to relieve stress, only mild sequelae; (3) continuous consumption in social isolation, many pretreatments; (4) 'moderate' consumption with physical dependence; (5) socially motivated consumption, few sequelae, few pretreatments. From this subtyping conclusions can be drawn with regard to preventive, counselling and treatment measures.