Alcohol Dependence

In this Background Briefing, I look at the alcohol dependence syndrome as originally described by Griffith Edwards and Milton Gross. The alcohol dependence syndrome was viewed as a cluster of seven elements that concur, existing in degrees of severity rather than as a categorical absolute.

This description rapidly became accepted and used for looking at dependence to other drugs.

‘There is no signpost to a person becoming dependent. Whilst a severely dependent person is easy to recognise, it can be difficult to detect a problem in the early stages.’