Telescoping and Gender Differences in Alcohol Dependence: New Evidence From Two National Surveys

Abstract

A telescoping effect is not evident in the general population. Gender differences in the overall hazard of alcohol use and dependence are decreasing in more recent cohorts, while gender differences in time from first use to dependence are increasing. These findings challenge the commonly held notion of a gender-specific course of alcohol disorders and suggest the need for a greater clinical focus on problem drinking in women and further research on accelerated time to dependence in men.