The Relationship between Addiction and Psychopathology in a Sample of Inpatient Adult Alcoholics

• Main Authors: Beaty, Lee A, Cipparrone, Nancy E
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: 1993
• Subjects: Adults; Alcoholism; At Risk Persons; Clinics; Drug Addiction; Drug Rehabilitation; Emotional Problems; Mental Disorders; Psychopathology; Rehabilitation; Substance Abuse; Therapeutic Environment

Since psychopathology may be linked to substance abuse behavior, one aspect of that relationship should have an effect on the development and consequences of the other. This study sought to determine whether psychopathology would decrease after a 28-day period of alcoholism treatment. Thirty Caucasian adults who had sought inpatient treatment for alcoholism were randomly selected and tested. Results indicate that psychopathology did significantly decrease on all six symptom categories, particularly depression, anxiety, and interpersonal sensitivity. Likewise, all three global indices of a test designed to reflect the psychological symptom patterns of psychiatric patients also showed some decrease. The least significant result was obtained for Obsessive/Compulsive scores. The data demonstrate that inpatient alcohol treatment can be effective in decreasing psychopathology. It is argued that the randomization strategy in this study controlled for many other variables that might have had an effect on the decrease of psychopathology, such as gender effects, number of previous treatments, and severity of alcoholic symptoms. While it is conceded that the lack both of a control group and of a multiculturally diverse sample limited this research, it is hoped that future studies will be able to address these and other concerns. Contains 14 references. (RJM)