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1991.09.30 :  Alcoholism Survey Data

Contact:  Sandra Smith, (301) 436-7551 Liz Greeley,  (301) 436-7135
September 30, 1991

     Seventy-six million Americans--about 43 percent of the U.S.
adult population--have been exposed to alcoholism in the family, a
federal survey revealed today.  The data suggest alcoholism may
play an important role in marital dissolution.  
       The new survey, by HHS' National Center for Health
Statistics, was released today by HHS Secretary Louis W. Sullivan,
M.D.  The researchers found:
       -- Almost one in five Americans (18 percent) lived with an
alcoholic growing up.  
       -- Almost 10 percent of adults have been married to or had
a marriage-like relationship with an alcoholic or problem drinker. 
            -- Exposure to alcoholism in the family was higher
among women (46 percent) than among men (39 percent) and declined
with age.  
Women were far more likely than men to have been in marriages with
an alcoholic (14 and 4 percent, respectively).  
       -- Separated and divorced men and women were three times as
likely as married men and women to say they had been married to an
alcoholic or problem drinker.   Almost two-thirds of separated and
divorced women and almost half of separated and divorced men under
age 45 years have been exposed to alcoholism in the family at some
time.
       -- About 38 percent of U.S. adults had at least one blood
relative who was ever an alcoholic or problem drinker.  Younger
adults were more likely to report having an alcoholic relative: 42
percent of persons under age 45 compared with 26 percent for adults
65 years of age and older.    
       "It is clear from this study that statistics on the number
of alcoholics in this country--10.5 million--greatly underestimate
the  total number of people affected by the disease of alcoholism,"

Secretary Sullivan said in releasing the report of the findings of
the 1988 National Health Interview Survey on Alcohol.  
       The survey was conducted by NCHS and the National Institute
on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to provide new information about
one of the nation's major health problems.   The study obtained
extensive data on alcohol consumption; the personal, medical and
social problems associated with alcohol use; and exposure to
alcoholism and problem drinking in the family. 
       Exposure to alcoholism was strongly associated with marital
status:  56 percent of separated and divorced adults reported
having an alcoholic family member, compared with 43 percent of
married persons, 39 percent of never married, and 36 percent of
widowed adults.  These sharp differences were found for men and
women and for each of the age groups studied.
       "One real victim of alcoholism is the family," said
Assistant Secretary for Health James O. Mason, M.D., who heads the
Public Health Service and directs the nation's alcohol research and
prevention programs.  "Our strategies to prevent and treat alcohol
abuse must consider the needs of the family as well as the
alcoholic," he said.  
       William L. Roper, M.D., director of the Centers for Disease
Control, said, "Not only are family members of alcoholics more
vulnerable to developing alcoholism themselves, they also are often
subjected to many adverse conditions associated with alcoholism--
conditions ranging from economic hardship to physical abuse in some
cases."
       The survey gathered data through household interviews with
a sample of the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population.  
The terms "problem drinker" and "alcoholic" were not defined in the
survey but were interpreted by the respondent. Therefore, levels
and patterns of alcohol consumption may vary among those identified
as alcoholics.  
       Copies of the report "Exposure to Alcoholism in the Family: 
United States, 1988" are available from the National Center for
Health Statistics, 6525 Belcrest Road, Room 1064, Hyattsville, Md.
20782.  The National Center for Health Statistics is a part of the
Centers for Disease Control.  The National Institute on Alcoholism
and Alcohol Abuse is located within the Alcohol, Drug Abuse and
Mental Health Administration.  Both agencies are part of the Public
Health Service family of health agencies in HHS.
                                ###