“Heavy” and “Light” Drinking-Drivers as Separate Target Groups for Treatment

Abstract

Because of the widely held hypothesis that the “Light” drinker and the “Heavy” drinker may respond differentially to various treatment programs, it appears of value to explore some of the basic differences between these two groups. Several hundred male drivers were studied prior to entering any one of several court-referred drinking-driver treatment programs in Orange County, California. One hundred sixty-nine “Light” drinkers and 112 “Heavy” drinkers were administered a biographical questionnaire, the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test, the Cornell Medical Index, and the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey. When compared with the “Light” drinker, the “Heavy” drinker tends to have stronger tendencies toward sociopathy, a lower educational level, and a greater tendency to not complete assigned treatment programs. Furthermore, they admit to a greater number of emotional and physical problems. These findings have implications for structuring the type of treatment program to which they may or may not respond. Since future research may indicate that the “Heavy” drinker is not responsive to existing treatment programs, we must consider the possibility of abandoning or restructuring most of our current programs if they prove not to be cost-effective.