The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships of client pretreatment characteristics to treatment outcome (measured in terms of alcohol drinking behaviour 1 year after treatment) of 141 male alcoholics admitted to an alcoholism treatment center in British Columbia during the past 3 years. Data gathered prior to treatment included: (a) Demographic data: (i) Age, (ii) Level of Education, (iii) Marital Status; (b) Psychological test data: (i) Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, (ii) Edwards Personal Preference Schedule, (iii) Sixteen Personality Factors Questionnaire, (iv) Alcohol Addiction Test, (v) Shipley-Institute of Living Scale; and (c) Duration of Treatment data. The outcome classifications (successes and failures) were based on information from letters, cards, and phone calls made by former clients to their counsellors during the criterion time-period, as well as through return visits made by clients to confirm sobriety, and finally through employer and grapevine reports. The t-test for significance of differences between means was conducted on the variables, Age, Level of Education, and Duration of Treatment, while the Chi-square test of independence was conducted on the variable Marital Status. The psychological test data were put into proportional form with an ArcSin transformation, so that the unique amounts of variance contributed by each variable to the total.could be properly compared. Discriminant analysis in two steps was then performed on the psychological test data, seeking to discover those variables which contributed significantly to discrimination between the outcome groups in a predictive sense. The variables chosen by the discriminant process were then correlated among one another in order to illustrate the nature of relationships of each scale (variable) to the others. Results showed that there were no statistically significant differences for any of the demographic variables, and similarly for the 'duration of treatment' variable. However, the discriminant analysis procedures revealed four psychological variables (scales) that maximally discriminated between outcome groups, and when considered together, explained 19% of the total variance on the criterion measure, and correctly classified 68.1% of the cases. These four variables were scales 'PA' (Paranoia), 'MA' (Hypomania), and 'SI' (Social Introversion) from the MMPI, and scale 'N' (Forthright vs. Shrewd) from the 16 PF. Correlations among these scales revealed a low, with definite but small relationship between scales 'MA' and 'PA' (r =0.37, p < .001), 'PA' and 'SA' (r = 0.30, p < .001), and a slight, almost negligible relationship between scales 'MA' and 'N' (r = -0.16, p < .026). Correlations between 'MA' and 'SI', 'SI' and 'N', and 'N' and 'PA' were not significant. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

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The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate an alcohol education program for the inhabitants of region seven, state of Idaho. A questionnaire comprised of multiple choice, and true-false questions, plus an attitude scale was developed to measure changes by way of pre and post testings. The five hypotheses of this study are: That our community and school education program would result in subjects obtaining a higher percentage of correct responses on information items on the post test administration of our questionnaire versus the pre testing. The community and school education program would result in subjects obtaining an attitude rating more in line with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) position on the post test administration of the attitude survey, as compared to their pre test rating. There would be a larger increase in the number of clients who sought out counseling at the Center for problems related to alcoholism during our six month test period, as compared to the increase experienced during the same six months of the previous year prior to the new program. During the six month test period there would be a larger number of presentations, as requested, to community groups, as compared to the number given during the same six months of the previous year prior to the new program. During the six month test period there would be larger amounts of money received from local contributors (agencies or individuals), as compared to the same six months of the previous year prior to the new program. A frequency count and corresponding percentages were tabulated for each question from the questionnaires received during a 1 percent random sampling of households in the community. Also, an analysis of variance was run to determine if there was a significant difference pre to post on community respondents, or on school students who received an alcohol education presentation in their classrooms. Results indicate no shift in community or school student's attitudes, nor in the community's informational level. Four out of six schools had an increase in the student's informational level, which was significant at the .01 level. Likewise, a class of Licensed Practical Nursing students showed a significant increase.

Many-psychotherapists feel that the capacity to risk is a necessary ingredient for change. Whether that change occur in a person seen in a professional context or in a person who views new behavior as being more rewarding, risk and change go hand in hand. Coleman (1972) described this relationship in the following way: Life often poses problems in which the pursuit of increased satisfactions involves giving up present hard-won security and taking new risks. For the neurotic, this is likely to prove an especially anxiety-arousing conflictful situation [p. 226]. Why should this be true? It seems that one of the major ways we keep ourselves from risking is by requiring knowledge of what is going to happen before we will try something new. Polster and Polster (1972) state: For most people the need to be able to predict the results of their actions prevents them from easily reaching beyond the existing forms of behavior where the greatest opportunities are present. If they venture into unfamiliar territory, while they might gain an increased sense of excitement and power, they might lose their easy understanding and feel unprepared and alien [p. 148]. Another force which makes risking, for change, a difficult process is the fear of knowledge of oneself. Part of our energy is directed towards maintaining and protecting was conducted by dividing the sample into two groups defined by attendance at the out-patient clinics. It was hypothesized that subjects attending the out-patient clinics would show larger changes in the direction of increased risk taking between pre and post-program testing conditions, and that their scores would be lower numerically, indicating a greater willingness to take risks. Change in the direction of increased risk taking was found to be the major predictor of attendance at the outpatient clinics. Absolute willingness to risk, as measured by the questionnaire was not found to be significantly different between the two groups.

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This thesis examines the possibilities of living an authentic life for an alcoholic, both in and out of Alcoholics Anonymous. Authenticity is explored using the existential models put forth by Jean-Paul Sartre and Soren Kierkegaard. Alcoholics Anonymous figures prominently in this analysis. It is suggested that A.A. acts inauthentically in its claims that it is not a religious organization. A.A. creates special problems for female alcoholics because of the sexist and masculinist nature of its primary literature. While A.A. claims that its message is the only way by which an alcoholic can recover, other treatment methods exist. Suggestions are made that A.A. revise its main texts, and two alternative organizations to A.A. are briefly discussed.

The purpose of this research project was to explore the structural variables of hierarchical reversals, cross generational coalitions, cohesion, and adaptability as they were manifested in families with an alcoholic member, families with a recovered member, and non-alcoholic families. One hundred and twenty-five families responded to written questionnaires including The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES III), the Madanes Family Hierarchy Test (MFHT), and a Demographic Questionnaire. Adult participants also completed the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) to ensure that control families had no potentially alcoholic members, as well as ensuring that recovered families had no actively addicted members. Information was obtained on age, ethnicity, educational employment status, family income, and the sex of participating children, to ensure that the three groups were demographically comparable. The statistical analyses confirmed structural family therapy theory and the current research on alcoholic families. The results further expanded the understanding of the nature of coalitions and hierarchical reversals as they were manifested in these samples. / Ph. D. / incomplete_metadata