Detection of alcoholism in hospitalized children and their families
A. K. Duggan, H. Adger Jr, E. M. McDonald, E. J. Stokes and R. Moore
Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md.
The study sought to measure provider recognition of family alcohol-related
problems among hospitalized children and to identify characteristics
distinguishing "positive" families. The study sample (N = 147) was drawn
from admissions to the general pediatric medical service of a metropolitan
teaching hospital. Positivity was assessed through parent and patient
interviews that included standard alcohol abuse screening instruments.
Provider recognition was assessed through record review and physician
interview. Of the 22 families screened positive, only one was so identified
by the child's attending or resident physician. Positive and "negative"
families were similar in most respects, although parents in positive
families were more likely to report stress and sleeping problems and
adolescents were more likely to report being troubled by a parent's
drinking. The similarity of positive and negative families and the low
pediatrician recognition rate suggest that alcohol problems are likely to
go unnoticed without a conscious screening effort.
