Demographic and clinical features of adolescents and young adults with alcohol-related disorders admitted to the psychiatric emergency room.

Objectives: To determine the incidence of alcohol related problems (ARP) among adolescents admitted to the Psychiatric Emergency Room (PER) and to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics.

Methods: The study was a retrospective review of admissions to the PER, where we reviewed the psychiatric records of all of the 14-30 year olds admitted to the PER during the three-month period between April 1st, 2003 and June 30th, 2003. Demographic and clinical data of subjects with and without ARP were compared.