THE FUNCTIONAL SUBTYPE ALCOHOLIC Blogger: Being Sane Takes Too Much Work

Functional alcoholics make up 19.4% of all the subtypes. They are much older than the other groups, being middle-aged and an average age of 41. They had a later age of first drinking( average 19 years of age) and a later onset of alcohol dependence( average age of 37). Approximately 40% are female and nearly 50% of this subtype are married. About 31% have a close family member who also has alcohol dependence. About 62% of functional alcoholics work full-time, 3.6% are in school full-time and 5% are retired. Nearly 26% have a college degree. This group has more education than the others. They also have the highest income among the subtypes, the average household income is almost $60,000. Functional alcoholics are working adults and have been doing well in their careers for some time despite their alcohol habits. That is why their are considered functional because despite their excessive drinking, they can manage to maintain relationships and hold down a job. Because of this, they may not think they have a drinking problem. They function while still exhibiting signs of alcoholism. Although members of this group continue to function in society, they still have the same medical issues as other types due to their high volume of drinking. They have moderate rates of depression(24%). 43% smoke cigarettes. Low rates of anxiety disorders, and the lowest rates of having legal problems at fewer than 1%. Also, only 1% of them have antisocial personality disorder. Only 17% have ever sought help for their alcoholic dependence. Those who do, tend to make use of 12-step programs and private health care professionals. There are conflicting reports on when functional alcoholics drink. For example: 1. They tend to drink every other day, often consuming five or more drinks on drinking days. 2. They drink on a daily basis, usually at least five drinks throughout a single day. 3. In general, these alcoholics keep themselves together during the day so that they can go to work or school and then drink too much when they get home. 4. They tend to drink alcohol every other day(an average of 181 days per year) and they consume 5 or more on an average of 98%(54%) of those days. On drinking days, they tend to consume a maximum of 10 drinks.