DEFINITIONS                   

Abstinence:  No drinking at all.

Alcohol use:  Regular use with minimal or no consequences

Alcohol Abuse:  Regular use or abuse with several more severe consequences

Alcohol Dependence:  Regular use over an extended period with continued severe consequences

Alcohol Screening:  Identifies individuals in a patient population who have begun to develop or who are at risk for developing alcohol use disorders.  Although physicians customarily take a patient's medical history, routine use of a standard alcohol use detection instrument is valuable because these instruments provide a structed, disciplined, and consistent means to detect individuals at risk.  Two types of alcohol use screen instruments are used.  The first type includes self-report questionnaires and structured interviews; the second type includes clinical laboratory tests that can detect pathophysiology associated with excessive alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Use Disorder:  A primary, chronic disease with genetic, psycholosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations.  The disease is often progressive and fatal.  It is characterized by continuous or periodic impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial.

Alcohol Poisoning/Alcohol Overdose:  Can occur when large amounts of alcohol are consumed in a short period of time.  Alcohol enters the bloodstream immediately upon consumption through the stomach lining and does not have to be digested.  Only about 1/2 ounce of alcohol every hour or so can be processed by teh liver; anything left unprocessed passes though the bloodstream untiil teh liver can process it.  Inhibitions, rationale, and caution are greatly reduced when under the influence fo alcohol because of its effects on teh forebrain.  Physical coordinated movements become off balance due to effects on the midbrain, which can cause the inability to walk, operate machinery or drive a car, yet the individual may appear normal.  The hindbrain regulates respiration and heart rate, and serious alcohol consumption (any blood content near or as high as .05) can result in impairment of these functions or even death.

Binge Drinking:  Consuming five or more drinks on a single occasion.  Some studies define binge drinking in females as consuming four or mroe drinks on a single occasion.

Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)/Blood Alcohol Level (BAL):  The amount of alcohol in the blookstreram, measured in percentages.  For example, a BAC or BAL of 0.10 percent means that a person has 1 part alcohol per 1,000 parts blood in the body.  BAC/BAL is usually measured from samples of breath or urine.

Chemical Abuse:  Chemical abuse occurs when a person tries drugs or alcohol, likes the effect on his/her body and continues to abuse the chemical in spite of recurrent problems such as:

• Failure to meet obligations at school, work, or home due to chemical use (i.e. failing grades, suspensions, etc.).
• Using drugs or alcohol in situations that could lead to physical harm.
• Being arrested for illegal chemical use.
• Interpersonal problems with family members and/or friends due to chemical use.

Chemical Dependence/Addiction:  Chemical Dependence is difference from abuse. Individuals with chemical dependence have additional symptoms as a result of their continued use of drugs and/or alcohol. These may include:

• Tolerance.  This is when the body required a greater amount of the drug(s) and/or alcohol over time to achieve the desired effect.
• Withdrawal.  This is when a drug or alcohol user with tolerance experiences physical, psychological, or emotional distress caused by the sudden absence of the drugs or alcohol within his/her body.
• Using larger amounts of drugs or alcohol than intended.
• Desire to quit using drugs or alcohol, and/orunsuccessful attempts to reduce his/her use.
• Spending a lot of time and money to obtain the drugs and/or alcohol.
• Choosing to use drugs and/or alcohol over friends, family, work, sports or other healthy activities.
• Continued use in spite of mental and physical health problems due to chemical use.

Co-Occuring Disorders:  Persons with substance abuse/dependence or mental illness often have other mental or physical disorders.  These disorders may occur at the same time or in sequence.  A significant number of persons have both substance abuse/dependence and a mental disorder.  Persons with co-occurring addictive and mental disorders are associated with a more serious course of illness with co-occurring addictive and mental disorders include "co-existing conditions" and "dual diagnosis".

Current Alcohol Use:  Consuming at least one drink in the past month (includes binge and heavy alcohol use).

Dual Diagnosis:  Individuals meeting diagnostic criteria for two conditions are said to have a dual diagnosis.  Researchers may differ on what diagnosic disorders qualify as teh primary or secondary diagnosis.  Others terms used to indicate that persons have both an addictive and mental disorder include "co-occurring disorders" and "co-existing conditions".

Drink:  One drink is defined as 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits (80 proof), 5 ounces of wine, or 12 ounces of regular beer.

DSM Diagnosis:  DSM diagnosis include substance abuse and/or psychiatric diagnoses that are published  in the Diagnositc and Statistical Manual (DSM) or Mental Disorders by teh American Psychiatric Association.  A consensus of researchers and clinicians established the criteria for the diagnosis for each disorder.  In 1994, the American Psychiatric Associated published the latest edition, DSM-IV.

Early Intervention:  Uses activities designed to come between an early substance abuser and his or her actions in order to modify behavior.  It includes a wide spectrum of activities, ranging from user education to formal intervention and referral to treatment from a substance abuse professional.

Heavy Alcohol Use:  Consuming five or more drinks on the same occation on at least five different days in the past month.

Intensive Outpatient Services:  Client services that last 2 or more hours per day for 3 or more days per week.

Prevalence:  The number or rate of individuals who have a specified condition at a given point or period of time.  For example, the past-year prevalence of a particular mental disorder is the number of persons who met criterial for that mental disorder in the past year, regardless of when they developed the disorder.  Current prevalence of a condition is the percent or rate of those who recently developed teh condition.  Lifetime prevalence of a condition in the number or rate of those who have ever had the condition in their lifetime. 

Prevention:  Activities that are intended to reduce or minimize the incidence of mental disorders, drug abuse, or alcoholism and their negative consequences.  Available services may vary widely but generally are associated with information, education, alternative behaviors, and primary and early intervention activities.

Recovery:  Return to abstinence, with a possible relapse phse in which some adolescents cycle through the states again.

Self-Reports: Information that the respondent gives directly.  For example, self-reported substance use refers to alcohol and illicit drugs that the respondents themselves indicate they have used.

Sources:  SAMHSA, 1998.  NIAAA, 1999.