A 49-year-old alcoholic man presents to your office with the chief complaint of “feeling depressed.” In the last few months, he had been arrested for driving under the influence and had lost his job for too many absences due to his drinking. Last week, his wife kicked him out of their house and now refuses to let him see their children. He also complains that his favorite brand of liquor must be weaker than it used to be since he finds he has to drink more of it to achieve the previously experienced effect. Presence of which one of the following favors a diagnosis of substance dependence over substance abuse?
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- Family dysfunction
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- Depression
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- Legal trouble
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- Loss of employment
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- Tolerance
0 voters
EXP:
The DSM-IV uses the term substance abuse to identify a pattern of abnormal drug use leading to impairment of social, physical, or occupational functioning. In addition to impaired functioning, substance dependence is characterized by withdrawal and/or tolerance, which implies a physiologic as well as psychological and social component. Withdrawal is the development of physical or psychological symptoms after the reduction or cessation of intake of a substance. Tolerance is the need for increased amounts of a substance to gain the same effect.