Antisocial behavioral syndromes and DSM-IV alcohol use disorders: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions

BACKGROUND: Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), syndromal adult antisocial behavior (AABS) without conduct disorder (CD) before age 15, and CD without progression to ASPD ("CD only") are highly prevalent among adults with alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Among patients in AUD treatment, antisocial behavioral syndromes are associated with more severe AUDs and poorer treatment outcomes. Comparative data concerning associations of antisocial syndromes with clinical characteristics of AUDs and the sociodemographic and clinical correlates of these syndromes among general population adults with AUDs have not previously been available. This study examines prevalences and correlates of antisocial syndromes among adults with lifetime Diagnostic and Statistical Manual--Version IV (DSM-IV) AUDs, and describes associations of these syndromes with clinical characteristics of AUDs, in the general U.S. population. METHODS: This report is based on the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (n=43,093, response rate=81%). Respondents (n=11,843) with lifetime AUDs were classified according to whether they met criteria for ASPD, AABS, "CD only," or no antisocial syndrome. Correlates of antisocial syndromes were examined using contingency table approaches and normal theory analyses of variance. Associations of antisocial syndromes with clinical characteristics of AUDs, including number of lifetime episodes, duration of longest or only episode, and alcohol consumption during period of heaviest drinking were examined using normal theory and logistic regression. RESULTS: Sociodemographic and clinical correlates of antisocial syndromes among respondents with AUDs were consistent with results from prior studies. Antisocial syndromes were significantly associated with phenomenology of AUDs, particularly ASPD with the most severe clinical presentations. Associations with AABS were similar to but more modest than those with ASPD; those with "CD only" were weaker and less consistent. Patterns of associations between antisocial syndromes and clinical characteristics of AUDs were generally similar between men and women. CONCLUSIONS: Antisocial syndromes, particularly ASPD, appear to identify a more pernicious clinical profile of AUDs among adults in the general U.S. population.