Psychometric Comparisons of Sociopathic and Psychopathological Behaviors of Alcoholics and Drug Abusers Versus a Low Drug Use Control Population

Abstract

Scales derived from a self-administered questionnaire were used to assess the degree of sociopathy, alcohol/drug abuse, low moods, and sleep disturbances in 53 outpatient alcoholics, 11 prisoner-addicts, and 54 controls. Separate preadult and adult scales assessed pre- and postaddiction behaviors. Methodology differs from previous studies in that scaling permitted assessment of sociopathy, alcoholism, and drug abuse as graded phenomena; and drug scoring, as a function of number, frequency, and seriousness, was established prior to data collection. Data provide support for an affective-antisocial spectrum disorder characterized by early onset, low moods, and alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and/or antisocial behaviors.