This study is an examination of the relationships between alcoholics' and nonalcoholics' attributions and their emotions of anxiety and depression. The research design is an ex post facto/causal comparative analysis. Subjects were 150 white males. The treatment factor is separated into three levels: no treatment for alcoholism (50 nonalcoholics), two or three day treatment for alcoholism (50 alcoholics in detoxification units), and three to six months of treatment for alcoholism (50 alcoholics in a supportive living situation, halfway house, three-quarterway house). The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) was used to separate nonalcoholics from alcoholics. The variables measured for the three populations are: attributional style (as measured by the Attributional Style Questionnaire-revised for drinking practices) and emotional state (as measured by the Profile of Mood State).One-way MANOVA analysis was used to examine the data because there are three attributional areas measured by the ASQ (internality, stability, and globality) and two emotional areas measured by the POMS (tension-anxiety, depression-dejection). MANOVA analysis resulted in a significant F. The three groups were significantly different at the multivariate level in terms of attributional and emotional states.Discriminate analysis was used to determine if the groups were reliably different. Both synthetic variables analyzed resulted in significant results. The first synthetic variable was labeled "emotional stability," and the second was labeled "specific causal attribution."Univariate analysis showed: (1) no significant difference between groups on the internal/external dimension or the stable/unstable dimension, (2) significant difference at the .01 level on the global/specific dimension when comparing alcoholics in recovery and nonalcoholics, and (3) significant difference at the .01 level on anxiety and depression levels of each of the three group comparisons.Pearson Product Correlations were examined to understand the relationships between attributions and emotional states for alcoholics and nonalcoholics. The stable/unstable and global/specific dimensions are positively correlated with depression and the global/specific dimension is positively correlated with anxiety.All the hypotheses were supported:1. Alcoholics in detoxification make different attributions and have different mood states than alcoholics in recovery.2. Nonalcoholics make different attributions and have different mood states than alcoholics in treatment and in recovery.3. There are correlational relationships between the attributions and emotional states for alcoholics and nonalcoholics.Some alcoholic treatment recommendations were made. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/178565 |
| Date | January 1990 |
| Creators | Miller, Geraldine |
| Contributors | Nicholas, Donald R. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vii, 147 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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