Citation

Star JE, Bober D, Gold MS. Psychiatr. Ann. 2005; 35(6): 496-502.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Healio)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

There is growing interest in the co-occurrence of depression and alcohol use disorders in adolescents. It is now well documented that both diagnoses are quite common in teenagers, even in the same patient. The diagnostic issues of comorbid alcohol use disorders and depressive illnesses are particularly difficult because of the substantial symptom overlap between substance intoxication and withdrawal and depression, especially in adolescents. It is only recently that treatment in the adolescent dual diagnosis population has been investigated specifically. Currently, psychotherapy, specifically CBT for the identified patient, plus addiction treatment, are indicated. Investigation regarding the use of pharmacologic interventions in adolescents with depressive and alcohol use disorders is still in its infancy. Adolescent suicide prevention often revolves around prevention of alcohol and other illicit substance use, prompt identification of dual disorders, and aggressive treatment for both in a hospital setting. Although current research is beginning to understand the complexity of the dually diagnosed adolescent with major depressive disorder and alcohol use disorder, much work is still to be done in this area.

Language: en

Keywords

adolescent; human; prognosis; alcoholism; depression; major depression; comorbidity; review; alcohol abuse; disease association; fluoxetine; serotonin uptake inhibitor; statistical significance; family therapy; diagnostic accuracy; reliability; diagnostic procedure; diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders