Abstract
This article describes pre to posttreatment changes in secondary outcome domains, and examines the relationships between drinking outcomes and secondary outcomes, in a Swedish treatment sample. Structured interviews, including the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) Composite Scores, were performed on admission (n = 244), and after 12 months (n = 188, 77%). Significant problem reductions were observed for all domains except for the employment and medical domains. Posttreatment abstainers did not show greater improvement in secondary domains than did those who were in remission, and correlations between primary and secondary ASI domains, were generally low at baseline and follow-up. At the same time, those who met criteria for alcohol dependence during the follow-up year, reported significantly poorer secondary outcomes than did those with favorable drinking outcomes. Findings suggest that in the study sample, continuous abstinence did not automatically lead to better psychosocial adjustment, but that continued alcohol dependent drinking was associated with deterioration in secondary outcome domains.