This current study sample was restricted to individuals with mood symptoms who were asked about self-medication with alcohol, reported having used alcohol in their lifetime and were re-interviewed at wave 2 (n=5,768). For the analyses that assessed incident alcohol dependence, individuals with current and lifetime alcohol dependence at baseline were excluded (n=1,547), leaving a study sample of 4,221 (12,870 person-years of follow-up). For the analyses that assessed persistence of alcohol dependence, only individuals with current or lifetime alcohol dependence at the baseline interview were included, resulting in a study sample of 1,547 (4,756 person-years of follow-up).
