AN EVALUATION OF TYPE-A AND TYPE-B ALCOHOLICS

Evaluations of 1539 alcohol-dependent subjects (including 512 women) w ere carried out in an attempt to replicate the Type A/B dichotomy sugg ested by Babor et al. (1992). The subjects are participants in the Col laborative Study on the Genetics of alcoholism (COGA), and each was ev aluated using a face-to-face structured interview. Following the proce dure of Babor et al. (1992), data were used to create 17 domains, and a k-means clustering method was invoked to generate a two-cluster solu tion. Thirty-one per cent of the males and 25% of the females fell int o the Type B group, with overall R(2) of 0.22 and 0.24 for males and f emales, respectively. The scores in each of the 17 domains and the ana lyses of the clinical characteristics for Type A and B subjects were, in general, consistent with the earlier onset and more severe course f or Type B men and women. The ability of the domains to identify subgro ups of alcoholics remained robust even after the exclusion of alcohol dependent subjects with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and tho se with an onset of alcohol dependence before age 25 years. The presen t analyses suggest that five of the 17 domains might be especially use ful in identifying Type A and B groups