Alcohol-use patterns through medical school. A longitudinal study of one class
D. C. Clark, E. J. Eckenfels, S. R. Daugherty and J. Fawcett
We describe the patterns of alcohol use of one medical school class
assessed repeatedly over time from the first day of medical school to a
point several months short of graduation. Although male students
consistently drank more than their female counterparts during the
preclinical years, the men reduced their alcohol intake during the clinical
years to converge on the lower, more consistent intake rates of their
female classmates. Over the four years of medical school, 11% of the
students met criteria for excessive drinking for at least one six-month
period and 18% were identified as alcohol abusers by Research Diagnostic
Criteria during the first two years. More than half of the excessive
drinkers met abuse criteria, whereas only one third of the alcohol abusers
were also excessive drinkers. Alcohol abusers had better first-year grades
and better overall scores on the National Board of Medical Examiners, part
I, test than their classmates. The implications of these findings for
designing and implementing alcoholism intervention/prevention programs in
medical schools are discussed herein.
