Are there differences in drinking patterns and course of alcoholism between inhibited and disinhibited alcoholics?
This dissertation compares drinking patterns and course of alcoholism variables between inhibited and disinhibited alcoholics using archival data collected by the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) - Family Alcoholism Study. The UCSF-Family Study yielded 2,154 subjects who met criteria for alcohol dependence on the DSM-IV. They were from 970 families, (Seaton, Cornell, Wilhelmsen and Vieten, 2004). Of the 2,154, 182 participants were selected for this study. The 182 participants were stratified into four groups by using selected scale scores from their scored MMPI-2. The four groups were High Inhibition (HI), Low Inhibition (LI), High Disinhibition (HD), and Low Disinhibition (LD). As a result of stratification, 7 participants overlapped into more than one category, and were not included in the analyses. This brought the sample down to 175 participants. The four groups were divided into 3 sets of pairs (the independent variables): Pair 1 (HD vs. LD), Pair 2 (HI vs. LI), and Pair 3 (HD vs. HI). The research investigated differences in drinking patterns and course of alcoholism variables between inhibited and disinhibited alcoholics. The seven hypotheses predicted as follows: (1) Inhibited alcoholics will have a later age that they met criteria for alcohol dependence than disinhibited alcoholics. (2) Inhibited alcoholics will start alcohol treatment at a later age than disinhibited alcoholics. (3) Inhibited alcoholics will have less time between initial drinking and the point of alcoholic drinking than disinhibited alcoholics. (4) Inhibited alcoholics will have a longer time between the point of first formal alcohol treatment and time of recovery than disinhibited alcoholics. (5) Inhibited alcoholics will have more years of drinking (initial regular drinking to recovery) than disinhibited alcoholics. (6) Inhibited alcoholics will endorse more secretive drinking behaviors such as hiding their drinking. (7) Inhibited alcoholics will more frequently endorse the variable, "Get very happy and expansive," than disinhibited alcoholics. Primary analyses revealed two significant differences, therefore supporting two of the seven hypotheses; (1) inhibited alcoholics met criteria for alcohol dependence at a later age than disinhibited alcoholics and (2) inhibited alcoholics had started their first alcohol treatment at a later age than disinhibited alcoholics. Supplemental analyses were conducted, using gender and age as covariates. This resulted in the primary significant differences falling below significance, leaving no significant differences within any of the course of alcoholism outcome variables. Therefore age and gender explained more of the differences on these variables than personality type. Although no significant differences were found between inhibited and disinhibited alcoholics, the results reveal trends that suggest there are differences among these groups. These differences are: inhibited alcoholics show more vulnerability to course of alcoholism characteristics, such as more years of alcoholic drinking, receive alcoholic treatment later, and have a shorter duration between regular drinking and alcoholic drinking than disinhibited alcoholics. Further research is suggested to explicate these differences. These findings highlight the need to identify and treat inhibited alcoholics earlier on, in order to mitigate the damaging consequences of alcoholism that they may experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)
https://www.upress.umn.edu/test-division/bibliography/2000-2009/2006/taylor_are_2006
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Simone G Taylor
(2006)
Are there differences in drinking patterns and course of alcoholism between inhibited and disinhibited alcoholics?
PhD thesis.