The purpose of this study was to describe service use patterns across generation as well as examine if sex differences are stable across generations in a high-risk sample of individuals with AUD. We studied two types of service use, help-seeking and treatment utilization, across two life transitions. Though it is possible to seek help without utilizing treatment and vice-versa, most individuals in this study did both. It should be noted that there was a high correlation between help-seeking and treatment utilization in this study, but we chose to report and discuss them separately due to their conceptual and clinical distinctions. There were many notable differences in overall service use across generation, some of which interacted with sex and revealed new insights into the known fact that females seek use fewer services than males (Alvanzo et al., 2014; Chartier & Caetano, 2011; Gilbert et al., 2019; Ilgen et al., 2011; Raimi et al., 1999). Regardless of generation, younger females were less likely than males to seek help or utilize treatment. Many of our findings likely reflect social and policy changes that created different barriers to treatment and stigma for each generation and will be discussed in turn.
