A Survey of Alcohol-Related Problems and their Treatment

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Abstract
This paper reports on the extent of alcohol problems in a sample of adults aged 18 and over. The survey was of the household type with personal interviews. The area of the survey is very similar in demographic characteristic to the Province of Ontario as a whole. Of the 993 respondents, 15.3% were abstinent, 56.8% were social drinkers, 25.1% reported some dependency symptoms and 2.8% were problem drinkers. Serious dependency, defined as three or more symptoms or problems, was found in 5.5% of drinkers. They were mostly males, in lower social classes, young or middle-aged and with lower incomes. The most commonly reported symptoms were wishing to stop or cut down on drinking, memory loss after drinking and receiving medical warnings about drinking. Very few dependent or problem drinkers had received any treatment for problem drinking, including both formal and informal treatment. The rate of serious dependent or alcoholic drinking is 55 per 1,000 or about twice as high as expected based on liver cirrhosis or alcohol consumption data for the area surveyed. The results strongly suggest that there is a large number of people with serious alcohol problems who are receiving no treatment for them. There is a need for both more treatment efforts and preventive programs.

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