Alcohol use disorder criteria exhibit different comorbidity patterns

Alcohol use disorder is comorbid with numerous other forms of psychopathology, including externalizing disorders (e.g. conduct disorder) and, to a lesser extent, internalizing conditions (e.g. depression, anxiety). Much of the time, overlap among alcohol use disorder and other conditions is explored at the disorder level, assuming that criteria are co-equal indicators of other psychopathology, even though alcohol use disorder criteria span numerous varied domains. Emerging evidence suggests that there are symptom clusters within the construct of alcohol use disorder that relate differentially with important external criteria, including psychopathology and allied personality traits (e.g. impulsivity, novelty-seeking). The present study mapped individual alcohol use disorder criteria onto internalizing and externalizing dimensions.