A Prospective Assessment of Reports of Drinking to Self-medicate Mood Symptoms With the Incidence and Persistence of Alcohol Dependence

To evaluate the hypothesis that alcohol self-medication of mood symptoms increases the probability of subsequent onset and the persistence or chronicity of alcohol dependence.

Prospective study using face-to-face interviews—the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

Nationally representative survey of the US population.

Drinkers at risk for alcohol dependence among