Term encompassing alcohol use, alcohol consumption, alcohol problems, problem drinking, and alcohol dependence.

The concept of alcoholism, in its most general sense, refers to a disease, or disorder, typically characterized by: (a) a prolonged period of frequent, heavy alcohol use; (b) a variety of social and/or legal problems associated with alcohol use (e.g., driving while intoxicated, impaired school/work performance); and (c) the expression of dependency symptoms (e.g., unpleasant withdrawal effects when unable to consume alcohol). Although some adolescents do indeed experience difficulties associated with their use of alcohol at levels of severity so as to be aptly characterized as alcoholic, this subgroup is small relative to the number of children and adolescents who use alcohol at significant, but less severe, levels. Furthermore, there are major differences in the rates of alcohol use across the wide age range constituting childhood and adolescence. Hence, a comprehensive...