Psychological Correlates and Treatment Outcomes for High and Low Social Functioning Alcoholics

Abstract

This study is designed to identify psychologically meaningful correlates of high and low social functioning among alcoholics and to determine if High Social Alcoholics show greater changes between intake and 1¹/₂ months into treatment than Low Social Alcoholics on various psycho-diagnostic measures. High Social group membership was found to be positively associated with scores at intake on the MCMI Compulsive-Conforming Scale. Low Social group membership was positively associated with scores on the POMS Depression-Dejection and Confusion-Bewilderment Scales; and on the MCMI Avoidant, Schizotypal, Passive-Aggressive, Psychotic Thinking, Psychotic Depression, Alcohol Abuse, and Borderline Scales. Repeated measures analyses revealed that, although both groups showed significant changes on a variety of measures, the High Social group showed significantly greater decreases between intake and 1¹/₂ months into treatment than the Low Social group on the Avoidant, Dysthymic, Somatoform, and Anxiety Scales of the MCMI and on the Confusion-Bewilderment, Tension-Anxiety, and Fatigue-Inertia Scales of the POMS.