Alcohol abuse in social phobia

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Abstract

Ninety-eight outpatients meeting DSM-III-R criteria for social phobia were evaluated for past history of RDC alcoholism using the SADS-LA structured interview. The resulting 16 subjects with a history of alcoholism were then compared to the 82 nonalcoholic social phobics. The alcoholic social phobics had more severe social phobia and tended to be less likely to be married. Both groups were similar in other measures of demographics. The mean age of onset of social phobia was significantly earlier than the mean age of onset of alcoholism, and social phobia preceded alcoholism in 15 of the 16 dual diagnosis subjects. Most of the dual diagnosis subjects reported using alcohol to self-medicate social phobic symptoms. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that social phobia can be an important factor in the development of alcoholism.

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The authors acknowledge with gratitude the contribution of Donald F. Klein, M.D., Director of the Department of Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute.

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