TYPE-I AND TYPE-II ALCOHOLISM - AN UPDATE

A commonly cited alcoholism typology, the type I-type II typology, was developed from the findings of a study of Swedish adoptees and their biological and adoptive parents, Type I alcoholism affects both men an d women, requires the presence of a genetic as well as an environmenta l predisposition, commences later in life after years of heavy drinkin g, and can take on either a mild or severe form, Type II alcoholism, i n contrast, affects mainly sons of male alcoholics, is influenced only weakly by environmental factors, often begins during adolescence or e arly adulthood is characterized by moderate severity, and usually is a ssociated with criminal behavior, Additional studies have demonstrated that type I and type II alcoholics also differ in characteristic pers onality traits (e.g., harm avoidance and novelty seeking) as well as i n certain neurophysiological markers. A replication study with a secon d group of Swedish adoptees has confirmed many of the findings of the original adoption study.