An Investigation of the Impact of Social Support on the Outcome of an Alcoholism Treatment Program

Abstract

This study examines the role of social support in recovery from the chronic illness of alcoholism. Symbolic interactionism provides the theoretical framework from which two hypotheses are derived—one of which deals with the amount of social support available to patients during treatment and one of which deals with the social support actually experienced during treatment. Self-administered questionnaires were given to 83 patients enrolled in an inpatient treatment program in a midwestern city in the United States. Although patients did show a significant improvement in self-concept during the course of the treatment, neither of the hypotheses was supported by the data. Conceptual and measurement problems associated with the utilization of social support as a variable are discussed.