Andrew Sullivan is concerned that the new DSM-V psychiatric classification system will define the 40% of college students who sometimes binge drink as alcoholic. He links to an angry critique by Russell Blackford, who sees the potential over-extension of the alcoholic label as misguided and oppressive.
As I outlined a few days ago, and Dr. Deni Carise elaborates on today at Huffington Post, the alarming 40% figure that keeps being quoted is misleading. If criteria were broadened, the purpose would be specifically to identify problem drinkers who are not what is commonly understood as alcoholic. Continue reading “Drinkers Decide What Constitutes Unhealthy Drinking”