ABSTRACT
In the field of adult psychiatry in German-speaking countries, little attention is as yet paid to the psychic defects that a fetus can sustain as a result of prenatal exposure to alcohol. Although children of alcohol-dependent mothers do present to psychiatric institutions as adults with manifold symptoms, e. g., attention deficit disorders, affective disorders or intellectual disability, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are rarely diagnosed as an underlying cause. Appropriate therapy guidelines do not exist. Current review papers within the German-speaking countries usually stem from paediatric and adolescent psychiatry or medicine. Based on a selected review of the literature, the following paper addresses and discusses the disease entity of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and fetal alcohol syndrome and their significance for adult psychiatry and also identifies open questions and research requirements, e. g., the development of diagnostic instruments or the establishment of diagnostic categories.
